Last year's deadly earthquake in Spain, which resulted in the death of nine people, has been linked with removal of groundwater. Since the past many years water is being removed from a natural underground reservoir, which resulted in movement of the Earth's crust.

The findings have been revealed by scientists, who were studying the cause behind the occurrence of earthquake in the Spanish city of Lorca. The scientists were examining one of the faults near Lorca, Alhama de Murcia Fault.

During the course of the study, scientists thoroughly studies the maps obtained from satellites, which clearly represented the areas of ground that had moved. The areas found to have moved were the ones from where water was being pumped from the past several decades.

The study's lead author, Pablo Gonzalez of the University of Western Ontario, said, "He and his colleagues reckoned that the quake was related to a drop in the level of groundwater in a local aquifer, which can create pressure at the Earth's surface".

The study published in the journal Nature Geoscience subjected that the May 11, 2011 not only killed people, but with a frequency of 5.1 destroyed several buildings in the town, which is an agricultural center.

The scientists have claimed that solely the human activities resulted in the occurrence of the earthquake.