The Azores Situation Report Wednesday 12th July 2023
Magnitude 3.3 earthquake on the Richter scale felt in Faial.
An earthquake with a magnitude of 3.3 on the Richter scale was felt on Monday on the island of Faial, in the Azores, according to the Information and Seismo-volcaeic Surveillance Centre of the Azores (CIVISA).
According to CIVISA, the earthquake was recorded at 6:51 pm and had an epicentre about 23 kilometres west-northwest (WNW) of Capelo, on the island of Faial.
“According to the information available so far, the earthquake was felt with maximum intensity III/IV (Modified Mercalli scale) in the parishes of Castelo Branco, Flamengos and Matriz (Horta municipality)”, indicates CIVISA in a statement.
Inauguration of the Biological Waste Treatment Centre in São Miguel
The municipalities of the island of São Miguel, in the Azores, today inaugurated a Centre for the Biological Treatment of Waste, an investment of 7.6 million euros that will make it possible to value waste that until now was considered “undifferentiated”.
Until today, the waste produced in our kitchens was placed in landfills. They had no appreciation of any kind. We are talking about 30% of the total waste produced on the island of São Miguel, which was considered undifferentiated”, said the president of Musami, the company that manages waste from the six municipalities of the island of São Miguel, Ricardo Rodrigues.
According to the official, the installation now inaugurated, and which cost 7.6 million euros, “will treat and value this waste, transforming it into around 4,500 tons of compost” that farmers can use on the land.
Flores and Corvo with orange warning due to heavy precipitation
The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) raised the warning issued for the Western group of the Azores to orange, due to the forecast, from the end of the day, of intensified precipitation.
“The passage of a depression with an associated frontal system will cause a worsening of the weather, especially in the islands of the Western group”, says a statement from the IPMA delegation in the Azores, signed by meteorologist Carolina Medeiros.
According to the IPMA, the rain could be heavy on the islands of Flores and Corvo “from the end of Tuesday”, so it raises the alert level to orange in that group of the Azorean archipelago.
The IPMA had issued a yellow warning for the islands of Flores and Corvo, now raising it to orange, the second most serious on the scale, issued in “a meteorological situation of moderate to high risk”.
Thus, the islands of Flores and Corvo will be under an orange warning between 18:00 today and 00:00 on Wednesday, a period in which there may be precipitation, sometimes heavy, accompanied by thunder.
The IPMA also issued yellow warnings for the islands of the Central (Terceira, São Jorge, Pico, Graciosa and Faial) and Eastern (São Miguel and Santa Maria) groups because of the sometimes-heavy precipitation, which may be accompanied by thunderstorms.
For the Central group, the yellow warning will be in effect between 18:00 today and 12:00 on Wednesday.
In São Miguel and Santa Maria, the yellow warning will be active between 6 pm today and 9 am on Wednesday, adds the IPMA statement.
The yellow warning, the least severe on a scale of three, is issued by the IPMA whenever there is a risk situation for certain activities depending on the weather situation.
In view of these forecasts, the Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service of the Azores recommends that self-protection measures be taken.
The Civil Protection of the Azores advises, among other measures, the consolidation of roofs, doors and windows, as well as the cleaning of drainage systems adjacent to houses.
Storing loose objects in the garden, closing doors, windows and shutters well, are other measures recommended by the Civil Protection on its official website on the internet.
The Azorean Civil Protection also advises against unnecessary circulation, considering the possibility of the formation of water tables.