4.4 magnitude earthquake rattles the south of La Palma this afternoon

The National Geographic Institute (IGN) has recorded an earthquake of 4.4 magnitude at 3:33pm this afternoon in Mazo in La Palma, at a depth of 36 kilometres, which is the strongest measured since the beginning of the seismic swarm that preceded the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano.

This earthquake was felt by practically the entire island, and with a greater intensity locally in the south, where it rattled windows and glasses. The IGN places the intensity of this earthquake at IV on a scale from I to XII, in the range between weak and widely observed by the population.

According to that scale, those earthquakes at level IV do not cause damage to buildings or infrastructure, but are felt by the population of the area and cause the rattle of glass, the oscillation of hanging ornaments or lights, and in some cases the shaking of furniture.

The previous tremor with the highest magnitude, was a 4.3 earthquake also located in Mazo, at a depth of 35 kilometres, six days ago.