Earthquake of magnitude 4.0 to 4.2 hits León, Spain, with reports of tremors in Portugal
The quake struck at 22:34 Spanish time on Thursday, 15 October, near Priaranza del Bierzo, and Spanish authorities had logged no incidents in early reports.
First measurements
Spanish reports based on data from the Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN) put the magnitude at 4.0 for the earthquake registered at 22.34 on Thursday, 15 October. Europa Press placed the epicentre southeast of Priaranza del Bierzo in León, at a depth of 10 km, and said the agency had logged several tremors in Priaranza del Bierzo, Benuza and Molinaseca with magnitudes between 1.3 and 4.2. El Confidencial, also citing the IGN, located the epicentre 6 km from Priaranza del Bierzo and gave the magnitude as 4 in its published text, with the decimal figure missing. Portugal's Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera (IPMA) recorded a magnitude 4.2 event at 21:34 local time, with the epicentre about 10 km south of Ponferrada and a depth of 16 km.
Shaking reported in Spain
The Subdelegación del Gobierno en León said no incidents had been recorded so far, although residents in several municipalities of the Bierzo region said they had felt the tremor. El Confidencial described the movement as relatively significant and said it could have affected Borrenes, Benuza and Carucedo, where objects swayed but no personal or material damage was reported. The outlet also said the tremor may have been felt in O Barco de Valdeorras, Astorga and Bembibre. According to El Confidencial, it was the strongest tremor in the area in six months, exceeding a magnitude 3.1 event recorded on 26 August 2026, and an earlier quake had hit the immediate vicinity during the previous month.
Reports from northern Portugal
PÚBLICO reported that the tremor was felt in Bragança, about 80 km from the epicentre. Jornal Expresso placed the epicentre about 70 km northwest of Bragança and cited social media accounts naming Paredes de Coura, Valença, Vila Nova de Cerveira and Melgaço as places where it was felt. SIC Notícias relayed posts from a regional weather page on social media listing Braga, Vila Real and Vila Pouca de Aguiar. Notícias ao Minuto also reported that social media carried accounts of the tremor being felt in northern Portugal.
What the institute said
The IPMA statement printed by Notícias ao Minuto set out the position in these words:
As of drafting this statement, no information had been received confirming that this earthquake was felt.
The same statement said that new communiqués would follow if the situation required. SIC Notícias, however, reported the institute saying the quake was felt in the northern region of Portugal, so the published versions point in different directions and the timestamps given do not show which came first. SAPO reported that IPMA would release more detailed data once available, and that preliminary results may be adjusted as new data are integrated.
Why the figures differ
IPMA said that locating an epicentre depends on the data set, the algorithms and the wave propagation models used, and that different agencies can produce slightly different results. El Confidencial explained that IGN seismographs and responses to its macroseismic questionnaire are used together to build a picture of the event and estimate damage. The questionnaire asks people what they were doing, whether they were asleep or awake, how they reacted, and whether objects moved or fell. The agency uses these answers alongside instrument data.
