The Centro de Informação e Vigilância Sismovulcânica dos Açores (CIVISA) reported an earthquake occurring at 10:37 local time (11:37 in Lisbon), with its epicenter located approximately 15 kilometers south-southeast of Faial da Terra.
“Based on the available information, the quake was felt with a maximum intensity of III/IV on the Modified Mercalli scale in Povoação,” stated CIVISA.
The Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera (IPMA) also issued a statement concerning this seismic event, assigning it a magnitude of 2.6 with an epicenter about 12 kilometers southeast of Ribeira Quente.
“According to available information, this earthquake did not cause any personal or material damage and was felt with a maximum intensity of II/III on the Modified Mercalli scale in Ribeira Quente,” the IPMA noted.
This tremor is part of the increased seismic activity observed since the beginning of the month to the south of São Miguel Island, in the municipality of Povoação.
According to the Richter scale, earthquakes are classified by their magnitude as follows: micro (less than 2.0), very minor (2.0-2.9), minor (3.0-3.9), light (4.0-4.9), moderate (5.0-5.9), strong (6.0-6.9), major (7.0-7.9), great (8.0-8.9), significant (9.0-9.9), and extreme (above 10).
The Modified Mercalli scale measures “degrees of intensity and their respective descriptions.”
With an intensity II, considered very weak, the earthquake is “felt by people at rest on upper floors of buildings or in favorably placed positions.”
At an intensity of III, considered weak, the tremor is felt indoors, and hanging objects sway, with a “vibration similar to that caused by the passage of heavy vehicles,” describes IPMA on its website.
At an intensity of IV, considered moderate, “suspended objects swing, the vibration is akin to that caused by the passage of heavy vehicles or the sensation of a heavy ball striking walls, parked cars rock, windows, doors, and crockery rattle, glassware and crockery clink or jingle, and at the upper end of this grade, walls and wooden structures creak.”
