Panic in Spain as country gives urgent alert after earthquake hits tourist hotspot

A 4.8-magnitude earthquake struck the tourist hotspot on Friday morning (Image: Getty)

One of Spain's most popular tourist regions was forced to activate its pre-emergency seismic plan after a strong earthquake shook the hotspot last week. A 4.8-magnitude earthquake shook the Costa del Sol at 10.38am on Friday morning (December 5) with its epicentre in Fuengirola at a depth of 49 miles, causing widespread shaking.

Following the quake, Andalusian authorities, led by the regional minister for Health, Presidency and Emergencies, Antonio Sanz, announced the activation of the pre-emergency seismic plan, adding that calls to emergency services were received from across Malaga, Seville and Cordoba within minutes, the first call coming in at 10.42am. This announcement came just two weeks after Cadiz carried out full-scale tsunami drills, which saw hundreds of thousands of residents and tourists receive emergency alerts.

The 4.8-magnitude earthquake struck Andalusia at 10.38am on Friday morning (Image: USGS)

Mr Sanz's decision triggered Operative Situation 0 - the lowest level of Andalusia's official earthquake response plan - which is not an emergency declaration. No damage was reported after the earthquake.

Instead, this pre-emergency plan places 112, Proteccion Civil and town halls on alert and into a heightened monitoring phase, in which authorities issue public safety guidance, track aftershocks, check for hidden structural issues, co-ordinate information between emergency services and prepare to escalate the situation if anything changes.

On X (formerly Twitter), Mr Sanz shared a 112 video reminding residents to stay indoors during an earthquake, avoid lifts, keep away from windows and follow official channels for updates.

Andalusia is one of Spain's most popular tourist regions, welcoming millions of visitors each year. Last year, figures reached a record 36.2 million, a 5.5% increase from 2023, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. Estimates for 2025 are projected to exceed 37 million. July 2025 was a record month, with over 8.3 million visitors (8% more than July 2024) and €11.3 billion (£9.9 billion) in spending (up 10%).

On November 20, Andalusia carried out full-scale tsunami drills with alerts sent to every mobile phone (Image: Getty)

Friday's alert comes just over a fortnight after every resident and tourist's mobile device located in officially mapped "inundation zones" along the Cadiz coastline rang out with an ES-Alert message, warning of a simulated earthquake triggered by a "Lisbon-style" 7.6-magnitude tremor. More than 20,000 people took part in the drill on November 20, including 1,000 emergency workers and over 19,000 residents, schoolchildren, businesses and hotels.

The system was activated across some of the region's most popular tourist areas along the Costa de la Luz, including Cadiz city, Chipiona, Rota and Conil and was designed to test how fast Andalusia could react if a deep-sea earthquake off Cape St Vincent, Portugal, were to occur.

The drill aimed to simulate an quake similar to that which struck the Iberian Peninsula and Northwest Africa on November 1, 1755 - known as the Great Lisbon earthquake - which measured at least eight on the Richter scale, caused fires to break out due to candles burning at many church services at the time, as well as a 30-foot tsunami. It is estimated to have killed around 50,000 to 60,000 people.