June 26, 1644 Earthquake: Alicante, Spain

1644 June 19, 22 deaths (reference #12773)

1644 (reference #9896)

1621. In June 1644, new earthquakes began to take place, which lasted until the middle of July […] There was no mainshock, and earthquakes that lasted approximately 1 month, three that were larger sizes, were distributed over a larger area of approximately 30 km east–west, from Alcoy to Gandía on the coast, and approximately 12 km north–south […] the earthquake of 15 June at 23 hr was the largest earthquake that caused panic in Albaida. In Gandía, damage reported is that of walls and fences falling and much generic damage (muchos daños) in most houses, some of them cracking […] The following earthquake occurred on 19 June at 16 hr and affected the villages of Albaida, Gayanes, Alcoseret, and Muro. More damage was suffered in Albaida […] Important damage was suffered in Gayanes and Alcoseret (quedaron asolados, were devastated), as well as in Muro (special damage in Sella, a farmstead of Muro), for which several houses fell and there was damage to the church […] The largest earthquake of the sequence produced damage over an area of approximately 42 km × 47 km […] However, there is a confusion about the date […] The agreement of several sources (Actes del Consell de Muro, 1644; Tosca, 1715) allows us to conclude that the earthquake took place on 26 June rather than on 21 June, as proposed by Sastre Ferrando et al. (1979). Momblanch y Gonzalbez (1959) presents additional written evidence for the earthquake that suggests that it happened after the feast of Saint John (24 June), not before. Most of the greatest damage of the 26 June shock occurred in the area known as the Valley of Gallinera […] Based on this information, a macroseismic epicenter was determined for the earthquake on 26 June, located between Lorcha and Planes at coordinates 38.82° N, 0.3° W (Table 2 and Fig. 8b, star). This earthquake was the largest of the whole sequence, with a total of 19 deaths and maximum intensity of VIII–IX, which affected a large area of approximately 48 km in the east–west direction from Denia to Muro. (reference #14070)