Spanish holiday hotspots popular with British tourists have been rocked by an earthquake. The quake had its epicentre in the town of Tabernas but was felt in the entire province of Almeria.

It happened just before 1am today. As yet, there are no reports of damage, but residents and a number of Brits reported their beds shook, and furniture rattled. One said it was “like a lorry scraping across the side of my house.” The National Geographic Institute said it happened at 12.55am, initially reporting it as a magnitude 4.5 but later confirming it was 4.3. The epicentre was close to the Desierto de Tabernas solar plant and at a very shallow depth, on the Earth’s surface, which is why it was felt more strongly. The earthquake was felt in a large part of the province, according to initial reports from local citizens. “He was sleeping, and the whole bed had moved,” said one. “I was on the sofa, and it has moved backwards,” said another.

The mayor of Tabernas, José Díaz, confirmed the tremor was felt very strongly in the town: “What a fright we had; the whole house shook,” he said. Just minutes after the earthquake, residents went out into the streets to check for any possible damage.

The National Geographic Institute has recorded small aftershocks of the earthquake just a few minutes after the main one, and with the epicentre also in Tabernas, although closer to the urban centre.

So far, there have been five small earthquakes in addition to the main one. They have been of magnitude 1.8, 1.7 and 1.6, 1.5 and 1.9, respectively, at 1.03am., 1.06am, 1.09am, 1.16am. and 1.23am. They have had a much deeper epicenter: 13 km, 6km, 7km, 11 and 3km.

The earthquake was felt strongly in more than 100 municipalities, according to reports received by the National Geographic Institute, and in at least four provinces: Almeria, Murcia, Granada and Jaén.

Today’s earthquake in Tabernas occured just three days after another earthquake that alerted part of the province of Almeria.

On Thursday (February 12) at 10.05am, an earthquake in Partaloa shook the ground. An earthquake of magnitude 3.2 was felt in almost a dozen municipalities in the Almanzora Valley region.

*** Ensure our latest news headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings. ***

Last year, on July 14, there was an earthquake in Almeria – one of the strongest in years. Fortunately, the epicentre was in the middle of the sea, southeast of Cabo de Gata, so it did not have serious consequences. It was a magnitude 5.3 earthquake, something that had not happened in 70 years.

On February 14, the National Geographic Institute issued a bulletin about a series of earthquakes hitting the Malaga region.

It said: “Since February 3, 2026, the National Seismic Network of the IGN has recorded 287 small-magnitude earthquakes, mostly M<3, with M3.8 being the maximum magnitude observed.

“These earthquakes are located southwest of the province of Málaga and southeast of the province of Cádiz, between the Sierra de Grazalema and the coast of Estepona, at very shallow depths, mostly less than 10 km (Figure 1). This information is subject to continuous review.

“Many earthquakes are being felt by the population in towns near the epicentral area of the provinces of Málaga and Cádiz.

“The IGN (National Geographic Institute) has been able to assess the macroseismic intensity of 42 of them, with the maximum observed intensity being IV. The IGN has received more than 440 questionnaires through its website and mobile application since the beginning of the series.”