La Gomera registers 15 earthquakes in just a few hours

The Canary Islands have experienced an unusual surge in seismic activity in the past few hours, with the National Geographic Institute (IGN) reporting a series of 15 earthquakes off the southeast coast of La Gomera. Seven of these earthquakes had magnitudes ranging from 1.4 to 2.8 on the Richter scale.

The most powerful quake, measuring 2.8, occurred at 2:58am, at a depth of 10 kilometres and was lightly felt with an intensity level of III in various parts of the island.

These seismic events were detected between 8:20pm last night (Sunday) and 4:49am this morning (Monday), creating concern among residents and authorities in the region.

A 1.5 magnitude earthquake was registered at 2:53am southeast of the municipality of Alajeró, at a depth of 14 kilometres, and just three minutes later, another quake measuring 1.7 in magnitude was recorded at a depth of 16 kilometres west of San Sebastián.

In between, the IGN located a 2.8 magnitude earthquake at a depth of 17 kilometres off the southeast coast of the island's capital. An additional 1.6 magnitude earthquake was identified to the southeast of Hermigua, reaching a depth of 23 kilometres.

The Director of IGN in the Canary Islands, Itahiza Domínguez, explained that up until yesterday, La Gomera and its vicinity had only witnessed 17 earthquakes since 2017, nearly the same number as those registered during the last few hours.

This surge in seismic activity is considered "somewhat anomalous" and is believed to have a tectonic origin. La Gomera, known for its geological inactivity in terms of volcanic eruptions for over a million years, is not commonly associated with significant activity.

However, Domínguez, a specialist in seismology, acknowledges that experts have a limited historical record to work with, as the "high-quality" data for La Gomera only dates back to 2017, although the island has had a monitoring station in place since 2004. In any case, he suggests that if a seismic event of this magnitude, such as the 2.8 earthquake experienced last night, had occurred in the 1990s, the population would have felt it.

The region has a history of feeling the impact of seismic activity in the past, notably during the submarine volcanic eruption of Tagoro in El Hierro in 2011, which led to several associated earthquakes being felt in La Gomera.

He also doesn’t rule out the possibility of further earthquakes in La Gomera if the origin of this series is indeed tectonic and there is still energy to be released. However, the likelihood of additional seismic events is expected to diminish as time passes.

The authorities are closely monitoring the situation to ensure the safety of the island's residents and visitors.