2.4 earthquake on the Richter scale felt on Terceira Island

An earthquake with a magnitude of 2.4 on the Richter scale was felt this morning in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo, on Terceira Island, in the Azores, revealed Civil Protection.

On the Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service website, it is reported that the earthquake was recorded by the Azores Seismovolccan Information and Surveillance Center (CIVISA) at 06:49 local time (07:49 in Lisbon) with a magnitude of 2.4 on Richter scale and epicenter about one kilometer SSE (south-southeast) of Posto Santo, Terceira island, Azores.

According to the information available so far, the earthquake was felt with maximum intensity IV (Modified Mercalli scale) in the parishes of São Bartolomeu de Regatos, São Mateus da Calheta, Terra Chã, São Pedro, Sé, Santa Luzia, Posto Santo, Nossa Senhora da Conceição, São Bento, Ribeirinha and Feteira (municipality of Angra do Heroísmo).

According to the Richter scale, earthquakes are classified according to their magnitude as micro (less than 2.0), very small (2.0-2.9), small (3.0-3.9), slight (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 greater than 10).

The Modified Mercalli scale measures the “degrees of intensity and respective description” and, when there is an intensity III, considered weak, the shock is “felt inside the house” and “the hanging objects sway”, feeling a “similar vibration to that caused by the passage of heavy vehicles”, reads on the website of the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA).