An earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale occurred this Sunday on the islands of Terceira and Sao Jorge. The earthquake, recorded at 7:19 a.m. local time (8:19 a.m. Lisbon time), had a depth of 0 kilometers.
“According to the information currently available, the earthquake was felt with maximum intensity VI (modified Mercalli scale) in zone W of the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo, namely in the parishes of Serreta, Raminho, Altares, Doze Ribeiras and Santa Barbara. (Terceira Island). The event was also felt in the rest of the parishes of the island of Terceira and on the island of São Jorge,” the Azores Center for Seismic Volcanic Information and Observation Center (CIVISA) said in a statement.
The event “is part of the ongoing seismic-volcanic crisis on the island of Terceira since June 2022,” it said.
The regional civil protection and fire service of the Azores told the Lusa agency that “shortly after the shock, a landslide was recorded on the regional road in the district of Raminho, which blocked the road”, with the regional public works department in charge of resolving the situation.
Vitor Viegas, a resident of Angra do Heroismo, was at home at the moment of shock. “I started to wake up. For a few seconds I felt the bed shaking and the window knocking,” he said CM. “There were earthquakes that I didn’t feel, and I felt this,” he noted.
On the Richter scale, earthquakes are classified by magnitude into micro (less than 2.0), very small (2.0-2.9), small (3.0-3.9), weak (4.0-4.9), moderate (5.0-5.9), strong (6.0-6.9), large (7.0-7.9), important (8.0-8.9), exceptional (9.0- 9.9) and extreme (when more than 10).
The Modified Mercalli Scale measures “degree of intensity and corresponding description.”
At intensity III, considered weak, the shock is felt inside the house and hanging objects sway, feeling “vibrations similar to those caused by the passage of heavy vehicles,” the Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) said on its website.