Airport roof collapses as Spain hit by powerful earthquake
The earthquake hit southern Spain, including popular tourist hotspots Costa del Sol and Alicante early on Monday morning.
Spain's National Geographic Institute (IGN) recorded the quake off Cabo De Gata on the Almeria coast at 7.13am local time. Cabo De Gata is the largest protected coastal area in the Andalusia region.
At its maximum intensity the earthquake reached IV-V, or moderate to strong, on the European Macroseismic Scale, which has nine levels, according to the IGN.
Eighteen aftershocks have been recorded so far with the largest measuring 3.4 in magnitude and occurring just five minutes after the main earthquake, according to the latest IGN report.
The main earthquake struck about 19 miles off the coast at a depth of nearly two miles below sea level and was felt in hundreds of towns and villages across Andalusia and the country's Levante region, according to the IGN and local media.
In Almeria, an airport roof collapsed after the quake rattled hundreds of towns, with a car showroom also damaged by the tremors.
Almeria airport roof damaged by the earthquake (SOLARPIX.COM)
An airport worker told local media: 'We heard some noises one after the other and then a loud bang and a great cloud of dust appeared.
'It was a real scare for us. There were airport workers having their first coffee of the day but luckily no one was injured.'
Spanish newspaper El País reported that Granada, Malaga and Jaen, along with Murcia, Alicante and Albacete in the east, were among the hardest-hit areas.
In Huercal de Almeria, a Toyota showroom was damaged. A picture showed the ceiling caved in as it was taped off.
The quake came just a day after torrential rain brought chaos to streets, businesses and holiday plans across much of northeastern Spain.
Spain's weather forecaster AEMET issued severe storm warnings for Huesca, Teruel and Zaragoza, Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona, and Castellón.
The earthquake hit southern Spain, including popular tourist hotspots Costa del Sol and Alicante, at around 7am on Monday (USGS)
Near Barcelona, 71 patients were forced to evacuate Penedès Regional Hospital as streets across Catalonia turned to rivers following flash floods on Saturday.
In Cubelles, a town 30 miles from Barcelona, a witness claimed to have seen a woman and child swept away by floodwater after they fell into the swollen Foix river.
Firefighters rushed to searched the river overnight, with underwater units, helicopters and drone teams scouring the area.
At least 155mm of rain fell in Barcelona on Saturday in just two or three hours, according to AEMET. In Navarra, 97mm of rainfall was recorded. Heavy rain was also recorded in Zaragoza and Girona.
The earthquake came just a day after Spain was battered by heavy rain and flash flooding (Catalonia Firefighters)
Footage showed vehicles trapped under murky water, with some vehicles swept away by rivers flowing down streets.
One video captured cars drifting along the swollen El Cardener river after it burst its banks, while others were seen completely submerged.
Rosa Montserrat Fonoll, mayor of Cubelles, said: 'I've never seen anything like this in Cubelles'. She added that 200 cubic meters per second flowed through the town.
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