Four earthquakes hit northwest Spain within an hour
January 28, 2022, 9:50 am

Four earthquakes hit northwest Spain within an hour

Earthquake-Crack/Pixabay

The Xinhua reported that Spanish National Geographic Institute (IGN), Spain's northwestern region of Galicia was hit by four earthquakes within an hour on Thursday afternoon.

According to the IGN, the first one happened at 14:57 p.m. local time (1357 GMT) and measured 3.7 on the Richter scale, followed by a 4.6-magnitude quake at 15:44 p.m. local time, which was felt by residents along the coast and in such cities as Pontevedra and Vigo. Then two more lighter tremors of 1.9 and 2.5 on the Richter scale took place in the following 13 minutes.

The IGN said, the epicenter of the quakes with a depth of around 3 km was located off the west coast of the region, in the Atlantic Ocean.

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Emergency services have reported dozens of calls from local residents, but so far there has been no immediate reports of casualties or severe property damage.

Earthquakes are common in southern and southeastern Spain, but are rarely felt in Galicia.

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The worst earthquake recorded in Spain in recent years was a 5.1-magnitude one hitting the city of Lorca in the southeastern region of Murcia in May 2011, killing nine.

Source: xinhua

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.