NU Online News Service, May 12, 2:34 p.m. EDT
Risk modelers are still assessing the earthquake that rocked a portion of Southern Spain on May 11, taking the lives of at least eight people and damaging thousands of buildings.
Two earthquakes, striking in the early evening, jolted the region of Murcia, Spain. The first was a magnitude 5.1 quake with a depth of more than a half-mile that shook the Southeastern region of Murcia, doing the most damage in the town of Lorca.
According to a report from the BBC, about 20,000 buildings were damaged in the city, as the population of 90,000 spent the night outdoors.
RMS says it is monitoring the situation, noting that the region of the quake is the country's most seismically active. Yesterday's earthquake had the potential to do light damage to earthquake resistant structures and moderate damage to vulnerable structures.
News reports paint a picture of severe devastation with debris from ancient buildings damaging scores of cars parked along the streets. Fallen bricks, broken windows and rubble litter the streets in the central area of Lorca.
Neither RMS nor AIR Worldwide could provide information about insurance penetration at this time, but said they continue to monitor the situation.
The Associated Press said this is the deadliest quake to strike Spain since 1956 when 12 people died in a quake that rocked the Granada region.
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