{"id":241518,"date":"2026-07-28T05:55:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T05:55:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/ana-crespo-blanc-geology-professor-discusses-earthquakes-in-granada-its-better-to-have-a-house-in-albaicin-than-in-zaidin\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T05:55:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T05:55:53","slug":"ana-crespo-blanc-geology-professor-discusses-earthquakes-in-granada-its-better-to-have-a-house-in-albaicin-than-in-zaidin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/ana-crespo-blanc-geology-professor-discusses-earthquakes-in-granada-its-better-to-have-a-house-in-albaicin-than-in-zaidin\/","title":{"rendered":"Ana Crespo Blanc, Geology Professor, Discusses Earthquakes in Granada: “It’s Better to Have a House in Albaic\u00edn Than in Zaid\u00edn”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Recently, Granada has witnessed a series of seismic events, including a notable earthquake of magnitude 3.6 on July 26. This situation has sparked concerns among residents, especially given past experiences with seismic activity in the region. To better understand the implications of these tremors, I consulted Ana Crespo Blanc<\/strong>, a geology professor at the University of Granada and an expert on earthquakes. According to her, the potential for large earthquakes in the area largely depends on the characteristics of local geological faults.<\/p>\n

Understanding Geological Faults<\/h2>\n

In the context of earthquakes, a fault refers to a fracture in the Earth’s crust along which significant displacement of rock blocks occurs. Tectonic forces cause elastic tension to build up until the fault slips, releasing energy in the form of seismic waves. Crucially, the larger the fault, the more energy it can accumulate and release<\/strong>. This means that small faults cannot generate large earthquakes, similar to how a small slingshot can\u2019t propel an object as forcefully as a large catapult.<\/p>\n

The Influence of Faults on Granada’s Earthquakes<\/h2>\n

The faults currently active in the recent seismic swarms in Granada are relatively short, measuring less than a kilometer. This limitation means they cannot store enough energy to result in a significant earthquake. Historically, however, Granada has experienced more substantial seismic events, including two major earthquakes in the 19th and mid-20th centuries.<\/p>\n

The first significant earthquake struck in 1884, estimated at a magnitude of 6.2 to 6.5, while another occurred in Albolote in 1956, reaching a magnitude of 5. The destructive capacity of these earthquakes was exacerbated by inadequate building standards at the time, leading to significant damage.<\/p>\n

Contrasting Past and Present Building Standards<\/h2>\n

In 1956, Granada’s buildings were often poorly constructed, which resulted in increased vulnerability during seismic activity. As Professor Crespo Blanc notes, the last major earthquake led to the implementation of stringent anti-seismic standards, introduced in the 1970s. These regulations require buildings to be designed to withstand earthquakes, resulting in considerably less damage from seismic events today.<\/p>\n

For example, if the seismic acceleration is 0.08 g, the maximum height for a building is restricted to four stories, ensuring that structures can withstand potential tremors. Today’s buildings are equipped to handle significant quakes, a stark contrast to the poorly constructed structures of the past.<\/p>\n

Terrain Composition Matters<\/h2>\n

Moreover, the geological composition of the terrain plays a critical role in how earthquakes affect residential areas. If the soil is soft, such as sandy ground, there is an increased risk of wave amplification during an earthquake. In contrast, rocky terrain does not exhibit this amplification effect. Thus, as Crespo Blanc points out, \u201cit is better to have a house in Albaic\u00edn than in Zaid\u00edn,\u201d since the former area is likely to provide better structural stability during seismic events.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, residents in Zaid\u00edn should not panic. The faults influencing the current seismic activity are too small to produce a major earthquake, regardless of the ground’s softness.<\/p>\n

In conclusion, while the tremors in Granada may cause initial concern, the current fault activity, improved building codes, and understanding of ground composition suggest a lower risk of significant seismic events. As a result, Granadans can maintain a cautious yet balanced perspective on their seismic landscape.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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General News – 2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently, Granada has witnessed a series of seismic events, including a notable earthquake of magnitude 3.6 on July 26. This situation has sparked concerns among residents, especially given past experiences with seismic activity in the region. To better understand the implications of these tremors, I consulted Ana Crespo Blanc, a geology professor at the University […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":241519,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36399],"tags":[55737,27646,24368,49818,7911,6553,17655,36306,1061,3287,55738],"class_list":["post-241518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-albaicin","tag-ana","tag-blanc","tag-crespo","tag-discusses","tag-earthquakes","tag-geology","tag-granada","tag-house","tag-professor","tag-zaidin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241518"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241518\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":241520,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241518\/revisions\/241520"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/241519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}