An earthquake measuring 2.4 on the Richter scale was felt early this morning in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo, on the island of Terceira in the Azores, Civil Protection has revealed.
The Azores Regional Fire and Civil Protection Service website reports that the tremor was recorded by the Azores Seismovulcanic Monitoring and Information Center (CIVISA) at 06:49 local time (07:49 in Lisbon) with a magnitude of 2.4 on the Richter scale and an epicenter approximately one kilometer south-southeast of Posto Santo, on the Azores island of Terceira.
According to the information available to date, the earthquake was felt with a maximum intensity of 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: micro (less than 2.0), very small (2.0-2.9), small (3.0-3.9), light (4.0-4.9), moderate (5.0-5.9), strong (6.0-6.9), great (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 “degrees of intensity and their respective descriptions” and, in the case of intensity III, considered weak, the tremor is “felt inside the house” and “nearby objects shake”, feeling a “vibration similar to that caused by the passage of heavy vehicles”, reads the website of the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).
