El Hierro hit by 5.1 degree earthquake

Update : Thirty people remain stranded on the island of El Hierro due to the closure of two roads due to landslides caused by the 5.1 degree earthquake, the largest ever recorded on the island since the beginning of the process in the summer of 2011. The Minister of Infrastructure for the Cabildo de El Hierro, Atilano Morales, has said that the the Guardia Civil will be moving the people who are unable to leave the beaches of Verodal and Arenas Blancas.

Original article : Thirty people remain locked in El Hierro by the closure of two roads due to landslides caused by the earthquake of magnitude 5.1 on the Richter scale, the largest ever recorded on the island since the beginning of this process sismovolcánico in the summer of 2011.

As reported by the Minister of Infrastructure of the Cabildo de El Hierro, Atilano Morales, the Civil Guard move these people, who were unable to leave the beaches and Arenas Blancas Verodal by Lomo Black Road, which connects the island from north to south.

The counselor has detailed road operators insular corporation working to remove the two landslides blocked roads, the Border Road Sabinosa and the Well of Health Lomo Black.The island of El Hierro has been hit by a 5.1 degree magnitude earthquake today (Friday, 27th December 2013) located to the west of the town of Frontera, according to data from the National Geographic Institute (IGN).

The epicenter of the quake was located at a depth of 15 kilometers and registered at 17.46 this afternoon and was felt in many of the municipalities of the four islands in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Tenerife, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Palma). A resident of Tamaduste, on the coast of Valverde (El Hierro), said that the quake was “very strong”, to the point of believing that “the roof of the house was coming down and “The neighbours were very alarmed”.

Five minutes later there were two aftershocks registering a magnitude of 2.9 and 2.7, but were not felt by the population .

This 5.1 quake is the largest ever recorded on the island since the beginning of this process in the summer of 2011. There have been no injuries registered, though there have been some landslides on in Valle de El Golfo. Raods between Frontera and Sabinosa and Carretera del Pozo de la Salud to Lomo Negro have been closed leaving various residents and tourists streanded on the Verodal Arenas beach located in the town of Frontera, to the north of the island of El Hierro.