Tsunami would reach Almeria in 20 minutes

A TSUNAMI in the Alboran Sea would take 20 minutes to reach the coast of Almeria, according to experts at Malaga University. The EDANYA Group at the university has been researching the effects of a tsunami in the centre of the Alboran Sea, and discovered that the first point it would hit would be Cabo de Tres Forcas on the Moroccan coast, followed by Spain’s North African enclave of Melilla, Granada, Almeria and Malaga.

Computer simulation shows that the waves would hit Malaga the last, after about 40 minutes.

The simulation has been carried using the two mechanisms which could cause a tsunami, which are a large earthquake or a major slide of marine sediment or solid materials.

The latter is the most probably in the area, which has a high level of seismic activity. The number of small earthquakes registered in the area can lead to submarine sediment shifting which can cause a tsunami.

The simulation also shows that the waves which would reach the coastline would not be excessively large, but they would hit the coast very quickly, not so much due to their speed but because the marine area is small in comparison, for example, to the Pacific Ocean.

It shows that the waves would reach between 100 and 300 metres inland.