Spain: Lorca shaken by earthquakes

More than 300 troops and extra police with search and rescue teams were being drafted into the city, where 10 died An earthquake struck the south-eastern Spanish city of Lorca on Wednesday, killing at least 10 people and injuring dozens amid scenes of chaos caused by the country’s worst quake for half a century. Falling bell towers, walls and masonry brought panic to the streets of a small city that lies in an area known for minor earthquakes, but where residents could not recall such an intense quake in living memory. The earthquake was magnitude 5.1 and came at 6.47pm local time, almost two hours after a 4.4 magnitude quake had already caused considerable damage and forced many people out of their homes into the city’s streets. The quake was felt in the neighbouring provinces of Almería, Granada and Albacete, but the worst of the damage was done in Lorca, in the province of Murcia, where people were staying outside as aftershocks struck. Up to 10,000 people were expected to camp out at the city’s fairground. More than 300 troops and extra police with search and rescue teams were being drafted into the city to look for the dead and injured and clear away the rubble. City mayor Francisco Jódar called for water, blankets, food and mattresses to be brought in from neighbouring towns. “People don’t dare go back into their homes. I can’t tell them to go home and spend the night there as I can’t promise them that there will not be another quake,” he said. A reporter broadcasting live for state television station TVE narrowly escaped being hit by the facade of a church’s falling bell tower . A 13th-century tower in the city’s castle was also reported to have been seriously damaged by the force of the quake. Patients had to be evacuated from the city hospital, which was damaged. TV pictures and news photographs appeared to show at least one building that had fallen across a city street, along with images of cars crushed by falling rubble, fallen walls and large cracks in buildings. “I felt a tremendously strong movement, followed by a lot of noise, and I was really frightened,” resident Juani Avellanada told El País. Another resident, Juana Ruíz, told the newspaper her house had split open with the quake and “all the furniture fell over.” Spain’s last major quake was in 1956, when 12 people died in the province of Granada. Natural disasters and extreme weather Spain Europe Giles Tremlett guardian.co.uk

Posted by on May 11, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.