During the night from Sunday to Monday, as reported by SOS Deiak, Vitoria recorded a magnitude 4 earthquake on the Richter seismological scale. The epicenter was in the neighboring town of Iruña de Oca, a few kilometers to the west, and it was also felt in neighboring regions such as Biscay, Gipuzkoa, Navarre, Burgos and La Rioja. But they even detected it in Madrid train stations. Dozens of people report feeling the tremor, although according to initial official information there is no evidence of serious bodily or property damage beyond a few “cracks”.
The quake occurred at 12:10 a.m. this Monday, according to the National Geographic Institute and SOS Deiak of the Basque Government. Some cell phones received alerts, but not from the ES-Alert system. The movement occurred on the surface, at zero meters depth, according to official event data. 112 received 143 calls and the town hall switchboard 174. There was no response.
It was “two very strong blows, like two explosions,” described the mayor of Iruña de Oxa, Mitxel Montes. “Now peace has returned. Nothing happened. But it was a very big scare,” he said. “This is the first time something like this has happened,” he told Efe. The previous one was in 1967, but four years ago a 4.1 magnitude earthquake occurred in Pamplona. This tremor, added to hundreds of smaller-scale tremors, reveals that there is a nearby area of a certain seismic intensity.
“Thousands of people have noticed it. In principle, we have no evidence of personal or material damage. Above all, have peace of mind and follow the official messages”, added the mayor of Vitoria, Maider Etxebarria, in There is also no evidence that firefighters had to carry out “punctual” interventions due to the earthquake. “The tremors this evening were felt in a good part of Alava. I want to convey a message of tranquility: for the moment, no mobilization of the Alava fire brigade in the territory has been necessary. Let’s always follow the official information”, added the general deputy, Ramiro González.
The National Geographic Institute has activated a seismological information website