Earthquakes in Torrevieja: The 1829 Disaster

Yes, Torrevieja is a high earthquake-risk zone, one of the most hazardous points in the whole southeastern Spanish peninsula. The city, in the south of Alicante province, sits in the Vega Baja of the Segura river, an area historically marked by earthquakes and classified among those with the highest seismic acceleration under Spain's earthquake-resistant construction code (NCSE).

The cause is the convergence between the African and Eurasian plates, which in southeastern Spain translates into a system of active faults such as the Bajo Segura fault. A decisive local factor adds to this: much of the Vega Baja sits on soft, waterlogged alluvial soils of the Segura delta, which markedly amplify seismic waves and can suffer liquefaction, increasing damage compared with rockier ground.

The reference earthquake is the Torrevieja earthquake of 21 March 1829, with an estimated magnitude around 6.3 and an epicentre very close to the present-day city. It devastated Torrevieja, Guardamar and numerous towns in the Vega Baja, killed hundreds and forced the reconstruction of several villages, in some cases at a new location. That disaster, one of the worst in Spanish seismic history, remains the main reference point for the high risk that characterises the area.