A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck in the Mediterranean early on Monday, causing some material damage in southern Spain and northern Morocco, although no deaths or injuries were reported.
The quake occurred at 5.22am local time, about 160km southeast of Gibraltar and about 64km north of the Moroccan city of Al Hoceima, where an earthquake left hundreds dead 12 years ago.
The quake hit at a depth of about 32km and was registered with a preliminary magnitude of 6.1 by the United States Geological Survey, but that assessment was raised by Spain's national geographical institute.
The first quake was followed by another, with a magnitude of 5.3, as well as by several smaller aftershocks.
Spanish national television showed panicked people on the streets in coastal cities in southern Spain, as well as in Melilla, a Spanish enclave in Morocco.
No casualties
Television reports showed people surveying cracked building facades, but the regional government of Andalusia, in southern Spain, issued a statement saying that there had been no reports of casualties.
The tremors were felt as far inland as Seville, the capital of Andalusia.
In February 2004, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake near Al Hoceima killed 631 people.
The last major earthquake in Spain, in 2011, destroyed much of the town of Lorca in the southeast, and killed nine people.
New York Times
