Earthquake near Lorca Murcia

Just browsing on here and wife said this is on news..

http://earthquake-report.com/2011/05/11/moderate-earthquake-near-lorca-and-murcia-spain/

 shook me right up!!!!! pretty bad one, a few buildings toppled over and already 4 people confirmed dead.

I didn't know what to do, grabbed the kids and just sat in the corner. never experienced an earthquake before. its all over the spanish news and even bbc news.

7 confirmed dead now, where abouts are you Bigyin?

 little Britain 'camposol'  yeah just read about the damage and more deaths, if the missus were'nt working tonight i'd be up there helping at least.

We were listening to the news on Spanish TV, when we felt a tremor.  It was bizarre, because we were saying "the earthquake was a couple of hours ago!" and then they announced that there had been a second, stronger, earthquake: yes, we know, we just felt it!  It's the third earthquake we have felt in the (almost) three years that we have lived here.  Ten people died, dozens injured, lots of damage to buildings - our hearts go out to the poor people of Lorca.

Sue

BBC Coverage:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13368599 

My thoughts go out to everyone affected.

Yes, it's certainly not good here . The first was at 3,50pm supposedly 'only' 1,7. The whole house shook & there was a huge bang. the 2nd , just over 2hrs later was unbelievable. I'd just gone outside with the dogs when the ground started to shake & then I watched the house moving one way whilst everything else went the other way. It lasted about 10 secs & you could barely stay upright. There's 10 dead so far, possibly more expected. Apparently the Tunnel on the autovia going towards Andalucia under Lorca castle has partially collapsed. The hospital has been evacuated & 270 patients moved elsewhere. They were treating the injured in the grounds outside but have now set up a field hospital. They 're bringing in a 300 strong disaster team from the armed forces based in Valencia by all accounts.

I just heard about this on the radio in the car.

My heart goes out to all those affected by it.  It must have been frightening.

Just looking at the videos on the various sites.  So much damage.

I hope there aren't any more fatalities.

Justin

This was being filmed live!  How terrifying.

More footage here from the Associated Press:

 I didn't even feel it in the garden but my wife says it shook the whole house and we are 60km away. At least we are still firmly stuck to the edge of the mountain!!

Thoughts are with all affected by the earthquake.

Re: cancelling holiday - need to keep a sense of perspective. This is only the 2nd one since 1969 and most of the surrounding areas were not affected. We are in La Zenia / Villamartin area which has not felt anything

Hello,

I am a journalist working for the BBC in London. We are trying to reach British people living in Lorca, Murcia who were affected by the earthquake and would be willing to be interviewed by phone. If you or anyone you know would be interested, please could you send a private message with your contact details.

Many thanks, Siobhan.

According to the Spanish IGN there were in fact 4 tremors that were felt over a 7 hour period from 17:05 to 00:17 - the largest one being at 18:47 which is the one that caused all the damage. In fact there were a total 28 tremors and aftershocks in the area. The EMSC is only reporting 6 of these.

We felt the largest one in Almoradi - 90 km away from the epicentre - which caused a fair bit of wobbling for about 20 seconds. Almoradi is actually on the same tectonic plate hence we probably felt it more than some other areas. I can't image what it must have actually been like close to.

My heart goes out to all the people of Lorca and surrounding area and just hope that the Spanish Government has enough money to be able to help people in need!

 My condolences and wishes of hope!

Maria

 my heart goes out to all the peple and their families who have been affected by the earthquake.

myself my partner and daughter are due to arrive in murcia on the 24th of may for a few months, family and friends are warning us not to go and think of our daughter, just don't know what to do now, anyone any advice?

Where will you be staying when you come over here, starburst?  Have you paid for your holiday already, in which case will you get your money back?

I tend to be a fatalist - when your time is up, there is nothing you can do about it.  Not that I take stupid risks, however accidents and bad things happen all over the world and, if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, sadly you cannot avoid it. 

Good things happen too.  A colleague and friend of mine was in Thailand when the tsunami happened, however he and his girlfriend had got up early to go diving that day, taking their passports and money with them in a plastic bag.  They returned to find their hotel had collapsed and all their possessions were lost, but were grateful just to be alive.  Remember the Kings Cross fire?  My daughter was in London that day, but luckily had gone through Kings Cross before it started.  Planes and trains crash, not that often (you are more likely to be killed in a car crash) but we still fly and catch the train don't we? 

We have felt three earthquakes since moving to Jumilla, but this was the only serious one.  To be honest, it will be bad news for Murcia region if this disaster puts people off from coming here on holiday.  You get more earthquakes in California, but that didn't stop us going there twice, and we have also visited New Zealand.  It was awful seeing what happened to Christchurch as we had happy memories from our visit there.  I'm no expert, but I would think the chances of having another earthquake here in the near future are remote.  What do others think?

We live here so have no choice, but I do hope that this doesn't put people off coming here on holiday.  Murcia is a lovely region, with lots to do, and the people are amazing.

Sue

Exactly, Sue!!

If you constantly live in what  call "catastrophic mode" you would never leave the house at all.  A slate coming off a roof in high wind could kill or injure you in your front garden.

It is important to exercise common sense and caution and then carry on with your plans IMO.

The worst fear is fear of fear itself.

Patricia