Earthquake off Lanzarote stronger than average, activity stays normal

On Wednesday, an earthquake measuring 2.4 on the Richter scale occurred 80 kilometres off Lanzarote. At 11.12 am, the Spanish National Geographic Institute (IGN) recorded the tremor, the epicentre of which was at a depth of 17 kilometres.

The measurement data from the institute is analysed by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC). The earthquake off Lanzarote, with a magnitude of 2.4, was above the average magnitude of 1.9 recorded by the IGN for the Canary Islands over the past 30 days.

Over these 30 days, the institute recorded 53 tremors in the region – an average of 1.8 per day – with 14 tremors occurring over the past seven days. This means that activity remains within the usual range.

Tenerife: All is quiet on Mount Teide; the island has already experienced a rehearsal for the eruption

And what about Mount Teide? Things have been quiet there recently. Since the start of October, the IGN has recorded only one earthquake of magnitude 1.5 or greater in the vicinity of the volcano, on 4 October 2026 at a depth of just under eleven kilometres. In July, the stations beneath the western part of the Cañadas had recorded around 500 micro-earthquakes in ten hours; the IGN did not regard this as indicating an increased risk of an eruption.

Tenerife is nevertheless preparing for an emergency. On 22 October 2026, the Island Council conducted the Volcanex exercise simulating a volcanic eruption in the south of the island. In Guía de Isora, the emergency services evacuated around 300 residents from Chirche and Aripe to emergency accommodation; a total of around 1,500 people were involved.

Researchers have identified a large magma chamber beneath Pico Viejo, a subsidiary volcano of Mount Teide. Among the IGN’s most recent reports was also an earthquake at the submarine volcano Enmedio, which lies between Tenerife and Gran Canaria.

Previously, on 25 October 2026 at 6.08 pm, the IGN had recorded a 3.1-magnitude earthquake 90 kilometres off the coast of Fuerteventura, with the epicentre at a depth of 50 kilometres. On 25 October 2026 at 4.36 am, the earth trembled 70 kilometres off the coast of Fuerteventura with a magnitude of 2.7 at a depth of 31 kilometres. On 23 October 2026 at 9.50 pm, the monitoring stations recorded an earthquake 30 kilometres off Gran Canaria with a magnitude of 2; its epicentre was at a depth of 7 kilometres.