Azores Situation Report Wednesday 12th March 2025

Earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale felt in São Miguel

An earthquake measuring 5.3 (Richter), whose epicentre was located approximately 25 km south-southeast of Faial da Terra, was recorded this Tuesday at 7:14 am at the stations of the Azores Archipelago Seismic Network, according to the IPMA

According to information from IPMA, this earthquake was felt but did not cause personal or material damage and was felt with maximum intensity V (modified Mercalli scale) in the
parishes of Rosto do Cão (São Roque), Agua de Pau, Furnas, Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, Povoação and Ponta Garça.

It was also felt with less intensity in the parishes of Santa Barbara, São Pedro, Vila do Porto, on the island of Santa Maria.

Ponta Delgada/Vila Franca expressway in São Miguel, will have speed sensors

The Ponta Delgada/Vila Franca expressway, in São Miguel, is being equipped with speed sensors and more signage to prevent dangerous maneuvers and speeding, the main reasons for the increase in accidents

According to the Regional Secretariat for Tourism, Mobility and Infrastructure, the regional directorate of Public Works and the company operating the expressway (Euroscut) are evaluating “all possible responses” with a view to creating better road safety and circulation conditions.

Among the measures that are already in place is the placement of a double continuous line on the road with folding pins, vertical signage, on the 2.7 kilometre stretch between the Fischer and Santa Cruz junctions, Lagoa municipality, and the placement of speed sensors, according to the Regional Government.

The measures, according to a note from the executive, aim to “prohibit overtaking and alert drivers to the dangers posed by excessive speed, highlighted by police authorities as being one of the main reasons for the increase in road accidents”.

The expressways granted to Euroscut on the island of São Miguel cover around 90 kilometres and have been the subject of several interventions over the years, in terms of pavements in areas that recorded a concentration of accidents, signage, changes to horizontal paintwork and emergency drills involving tanker trucks (fuel).

According to the Regional Secretariat, solutions were developed to reduce the formation of queues on roads with a high potential for chain collisions and awareness-raising actions aimed at alerting people to the dangers of speeding.

On the other hand, Euroscut has set up “a pilot trial” to reduce chain collisions, which is underway on the Ponta Delgada ring road until the end of March, through mobile panels that warn of the need to pay attention in slow traffic.

The ‘Pilgrims on the Road’ campaign is currently underway, using mobile panels with variable messages and surveillance, so that drivers pay special attention and take precautions on the roads, during the passage of the groups that already travel the roads of São Miguel, fulfilling a Lenten tradition that is over 500 years old.

107 cases of ‘bird strikes’ recorded in 2024

At Ponta Delgada airport alone, 56 incidents were recorded, representing 52.3% of all bird strikes in the Azores. This was followed by Faial (11 incidents) and Terceira (ten incidents).

In 2024, a total of 107 cases of collisions or near-collisions with birds or their ingestion by engines, also known as ‘bird strikes’, were recorded at the nine airports and aerodromes in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, according to data from the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC).

At Ponta Delgada airport, on the island of São Miguel, 56 incidents of this kind were recorded, meaning there were more cases of collisions or near collisions with birds or their ingestion by engines at this airport, compared to the other eight airports and aerodromes in the Azores (51 incidents).

In total, it appears that there was an approximate average of five cases of ‘bird strikes’ per month at Ponta Delgada airport.

Between four and eleven occurrences of bird strikes were observed at the remaining eight airports and aerodromes in the Region in 2024.

After Ponta Delgada, which, with its 56 occurrences, represented 52.3% of the total number of bird strikes in the Azores, comes the airports of Faial (11 occurrences), Terceira (ten occurrences), Flores (eight occurrences), Graciosa (seven occurrences), São Jorge (six occurrences), Pico (five occurrences) and Corvo (four occurrences), according to ANAC statistics, relating to the year 2024.

Several cases of bird collisions with aircraft were recorded on the island of São Miguel at the beginning of January.

ANA Aeroportos de Portugal then revealed that João Paulo II Airport, in Ponta Delgada, “has seen an increase in the presence of birds in its vicinity”, one of the phenomena that may have contributed to the two incidents of bird collisions with aircraft recorded in January – which involved a SATA plane and another from Ryanair.

ANA explains that it attributes this increase in the presence of birds “to several natural factors, including migratory patterns, food availability, weather conditions and seasonal variations and limitations in pest control methods”, adding that “environmental factors external to the Airport also play a significant role in these changes”.