Terrified residents and tourists of Tenerife and Gran Canaria have been urged not to panic after thousands of people on both islands were rocked by a 4.1-magnitude earthquake.

Scientists say it is not connected to the seismic swarms being registered for the last two weeks under Tenerife’s Mount Teide and stress an eruption is not immiment. They realise many people were frightened by the earthquake and wondered if it was part of the strange seismic movements under Teide, but they are being reassured there is no connection. “In 1989, in this same area, an earthquake of 5.3 was recorded that was felt throughout the island of Tenerife,” said IGN volcanologist Rubén López, who dissociated this earthquake from the recent rebound in seismicity in the Cañadas del Teide area. People reported rooms vibrating and furniture shaking as a result of the earthquake, which happened today at 12.26pm at a depth of 10km. It is understood that at this stage, there are no reports of damages or injuries.

The National Geographic Institute confirmed the earthquake was 4.1 magnitude in the area of the Enmedio Volcano in the channel that separates the islands of Tenerife and Gran Canaria.

The seismic movement was been widely felt by the population in various parts of the geography of Tenerife and Gran Canaria.

Given its magnitude and the depth of its hypocentre, the quake generated numerous reports from citizens who clearly felt the movement.

In municipalities like Arico in Tenerife, witnesses described a vibration that lasted for approximately five seconds, with some residents even stating that “the whole room was shaking” during the event.

“It lasted about ten seconds and was more noticeable than ever, moving the whole house,” said one resident of Agaete in Gran Canaria. “It went from less to more. At first it seemed like the closing of a door, but then the whole house moved.”

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The Volcanological Institute of the Canary Islands (INVOLCAN) has stressed “this earthquake has no relation whatsoever” to the volcanic seismicity recorded in Tenerife in recent weeks.

The area of Enmedio Volcano is one of the areas of greatest seismic activity in the Canaries, located on an underwater fault between the two capital islands.

Although seismicity is common at this point, earthquakes that exceed magnitude 4.0 tend to generate greater concern among the population as they are clearly perceptible in homes.