Southeast Spain rocked by earthquake as tourist hotspots suffer severe floods
A 5.5 magnitude earthquake has hit parts of southern Spain this morning.
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The 10km deep quake hit coastal areas popular with sunseekers, including Costa del Sol and Alicante.
Spain's National Geographic Institute (IGN) registered the quake shortly after 7am local time on Monday.
It struck at a depth of almost two miles below sea level, off the coast of Almería.
The impact was mainly felt in Granada, Malaga, Jaen, as well as in the eastern provinces of Murcia, Alicante and Albacete.
Elsewhere in Spain, severe storm and hail warnings have been issued leaving cars submerged and a hospital evacuated.
At least 71 people fled Penedès Regional Hospital, south west of Barcelona, as streets across Catalonia turned to rivers following flash floods on Saturday.
Health minister Olga Pané told Catalan News: “We have decided to evacuate and transfer the 71 patients to the hospitals of Sant Camil, Bellvitge, Igualada, Sant Boi, and Viladecans.”
The State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) has activated weather warnings for 25 provinces, with eight orange cautions.
The weather agency has warned tourists and locals to brace for severe storms in Huesca, Teruel and Zaragoza, Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona, and Castellón.
Earthquakes under 6.0 rarely inflicts serious damage on well-built structures, though weaker buildings may see some minor cracks or effects.
In fact, the strongest quake near Spain in the last decade has been magnitude 5.4, making one of that size fairly rare for the region.