Shocking stuff

Like many of you here, our family were shocked by the earthquake that we felt on Monday morning. It was a 2.4 degree quake with its epicentre south of Torrevieja 16 kms underground.

Our youngest daughter was here with her husband and our two grandchildren and the last thing they expected was to feel the house shudder. In fact the movement was far less than other quakes we have felt and there wasn't the loud noise that normally accompanies a nearby quake.

Southern Alicante province, which includes the Vega Baja, is the region of Valencia that is most exposed to seismic activity. We experience frequent minor quakes which are caused by the constant movement of the small flaws that make up the region. They serve to release available energy, preventing earthquakes of greater magnitude.

It is just the opposite of what happens in many areas of Italy, where the faults are of greater length and more likely to generate catastrophes as was recorded yesterday.

However, that is not to say that the Vega Baja is free from the possibility of suffering an earthquake of similar dimensions, although the odds are very few. The last major one was in 1929.