Azores Situation Report Wednesday 16th October 2024

Azorean donkey milk exported for human consumption and cosmetic products

Asinus Atlânticus: a company born out of chance that produces more than 100 litres of donkey milk per day for the United States, Romania, the Czech Republic and France.

The product is in demand due to its similarity to breast milk. “It is the closest thing to breast milk that exists in nature, with a protein profile that is almost 100% identical. This gives it unique characteristics, not only in terms of nutrition, but also in terms of cosmetics. As for nutrition, it is a hypoallergenic milk, and its benefits for the respiratory system are widely known. Older people will all remember that donkey milk was used to treat whooping cough. After Covid, consumption soared, especially in markets in northern Europe.

In the Middle Ages, alongside orphanages, there were always large asylums that allowed newborns who were left on wheels to be fed. It is this culture that we are recovering with a large national study that we will begin next year. As for cosmetics, just talk about Cleopatra and her daily beauty bath in the milk obtained from the milking of 100 donkeys. In fact, donkey milk stimulates the production of collagen in the skin and this was Cleopatra’s empirical secret, which the cosmetics industry has now recovered”, says the businessman who laments all the contingencies of insularity in the export of the product. “Distance is a factor that has enormous costs, not only in getting the product to customers but also in contact with them. These are all extra costs that are not properly supported. A true export policy must be based on this reality.

Civil Protection carries out exercise today to test evacuation in Cinco Ribeiras

The Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service of the Azores (SRPCBA), in partnership with the Municipality of Angra do Heroísmo and the Parish Council of Cinco Ribeiras, on Terceira Island, is carrying out this Tuesday, at 6 pm, the BASALTO 24.4 exercise, with the aim of training the evacuation of the parish.

This exercise “will simulate the need to evacuate the parish of Cinco Ribeiras, in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo”.

Through this simulation, the Civil Protection of the Azores intends to train the “procedures and means necessary for evacuation with the participation of the local population, the coordination and response of the entities involved and the reception in the Population Concentration and Support Zones (ZCAP)”.

BASALTO 24.4 is part of the quarterly exercises that the SRPCBA develops throughout the year, this time it will take place in the LIVEX (Live Exercise) mode, that is, with the movement of resources and operators on the ground and, for the first time, will involve the direct participation of the population, explains the press release.

The BASALTO 24.4 exercise also includes the participation of the Municipal Council of Praia da Vitória, the Fire Departments of Angra do Heroísmo and Praia da Vitória, the Regional Directorate of Health, the Regional Directorate of Public Works, the Portuguese Red Cross, the Public Security Police, the National Republican Guard, the Port Authority of Angra and the Social Security Institute of the Azores.

 

 

Azores Situation Report Wednesday 9th October 2024

Storm Kirk passes north of the Azores, Tuesday

Storm Kirk will pass north of the Azores archipelago, tuesday and caused heavy rainfall, increased wind intensity and rough seas.

According to a statement from the IPMA Azores delegation, the storm “completed its transition to an extratropical cyclone” and, by 9:00 pm on Monday, its centre was approximately 500 km northwest of the Azores (Flores Island) and it was moving east.

The storm will pass north of the archipelago on Tuesday, affecting the weather on all the islands, “causing sometimes heavy rainfall, which may be accompanied by thunderstorms, an increase in wind intensity and sea agitation”, he said.

Wind gusts of “up to 115 km/h [kilometres/hour] and waves that could reach 11 meters in significant height (19 meters in maximum height) are expected in the Western Group” (Flores and Corvo).

In the Central Group (Faial, Pico, Terceira, São Jorge and Graciosa) “gusts of up to 90 km/h and waves that could reach a significant height of eight metres (15 metres maximum height) are expected”.

For the Eastern Group (São Miguel and Santa Maria), the IPMA predicts waves that “could reach a significant height of six meters (12 meters maximum height)”.

Due to the passage of storm Kirk through the Azores archipelago, the IPMA issued a red warning for this Tuesday for the islands of the Western Group due to the waves.

Orange and yellow warnings were also issued for the islands of the Western, Central and Eastern Groups, due to rough seas, wind and sometimes heavy rainfall.

According to a statement from IPMA, the islands of Flores and Corvo are under an orange warning, for rough seas, until midnight on Tuesday.

For the Central Group and due to rough seas, the orange warning is valid until 12:00 on Tuesday and the yellow warning is valid until 18:00.

The islands of Faial, Pico, Terceira, São Jorge and Graciosa are also under yellow warning due to wind until 6 pm.

The yellow warning for the Eastern Group, due to rough seas, is in effect until 6:00 pm on Tuesday.

Civil Protection records three incidents due to Storm Kirk

The Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service (SRPCBA) recorded three incidents, from midnight this Monday, until around 11 am, following the passage of storm Kirk through the archipelago. According to the statement, the reported situations concern “a fallen tree in Angra do Heroísmo, on Terceira Island, which partially obstructed the road, damage to an electricity pole in Horta, on Faial Island and damage to a structure in Santa Cruz das Flores”, previously reported.

All incidents have been resolved.The Civil Protection of the Azores states that 76 operatives from the Fire Brigades of the Western and Central Groups are involved in this operation, with the support of 23 vehicles, which will remain on the ground under observation until the end of the orange warning in force. The SRPCBA recommends that the population continue to adopt the self-protection measures provided for phenomena of this nature.

 

Azores Situation Report Wednesday 2nd October 2024

A 63-year-old man with medical emergency removed from merchant ship off the Azores

The Navy coordinated the rescue, by helicopter, of a 63-year-old man with suspected heart disease who was on board a merchant ship off the island of Terceira, in the Azores.

The crew member, a Polish man, had a clinical picture of heart disease, requiring urgent and immediate hospital medical care, the Navy detailed in a statement.

The man was on board the merchant ship “MIEDWIE”, flying the Maltese flag, sailing approximately 48 nautical miles, equivalent to 90 kilometres, southwest of Terceira Island.

The rescue [which took place on Sunday] was carried out by the Portuguese Air Force (FAP) EH-101 helicopter, which transported the patient to Lajes airport, on Terceira Island. The patient was later transferred to the hospital unit.

The operation was coordinated by the Portuguese Navy, through the Ponta Delgada Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC Delgada), in conjunction with the Urgent Patient Guidance Centre – Maritime (CODU-MAR) and the Search and Rescue Coordination Centre<r (RCC) Lajes.

Seismic activity in Terceira “within crisis standards”

The new increase in seismic activity on Terceira is part of the pattern of the ongoing seismo-volcaeic crisis on the island since June 2022, revealed the Azores Seismo-volcaeic Information and Surveillance Centre (CIVISA).

“Since early this morning, we have seen an increase in the seismicity of the crisis at the Santa Bárbara volcano. The crisis has been ongoing since the 22nd of June 2022 and has been marked by days of greater energy release and often associated with a higher daily frequency of recorded events”, explained researcher Rita Carmo, from CIVISA.

Two new earthquakes were felt on Monday morning in Terceira, totalling six events on that Azores island since midnight.

“The strongest earthquake occurred at 3:27 am and had a magnitude of 3.7 on the Richter scale, and was widely felt across the island,” explained the researcher.

The other five earthquakes felt since midnight had magnitudes below 3.0.

Rita Carmo stressed that “the deformation pattern” at the Santa Bárbara volcano is maintained, a situation that has been recorded “for some time”.

Regarding the phytochemical parameters of water and gases, she specified that there is no significant variation in the data recorded in the permanent networks and throughout the regular CIVISA campaigns.

“The situation is assessed daily by our crisis office, and we maintain the alert level at V3. And, if there is any justification for it to be changed, we will immediately inform Civil Protection”, said Rita Carmo.

On June the 27th, CIVISA raised the alert level for the Santa Bárbara volcano to V3 and for the fissure volcanic system on Terceira Island to V1.

In volcanic alert levels, V0 means “state of rest” and V6 “ongoing eruption”, according to the information available on the CIVISA website. Level V3 confirms the reactivation of the volcanic system, with signs of high activity.

The researcher stated that the crisis office recently raised the scientific alert for the Serreta Submarine Crista to V1 (metastable equilibrium phase), because the data obtained by the CIVISA monitoring network indicated values ​​”slightly above reference levels”.

“The crisis is cantered at the Santa Bárbara volcano, but there are also adjacent volcanic systems, in this case the Serreta Submarine Ridge and the Terceira Fissural Volcanic System. And, because earthquakes occur in these volcanic systems, the level was changed to V1 because these are systems that are readjusting to the tensions”, he added.

According to CIVISA, the phenomenon that is affecting Terceira Island “cannot be dissociated from the increase in seismic activity that has been observed in the Azores and, in particular, in the Central group, since the beginning of 2022”.

“The observed pattern of activity indicates the possibility of continued occurrence of events felt by the population, which may eventually reach magnitudes and intensities greater than those recorded to date”, is stated on the CIVISA page.

 

Azores Situation Report Wednesday 25th September 2024

Azores recognized as EarthCheck Reference Destination 2024

The Azores have been recognized as an EarthCheck Benchmarked Destination 2024, due to the sustainability policy that is in force, indicates a press release from the Government of the Azores.

The regional executive adds that, according to the report published by the Regional Secretariat for Tourism, Mobility and Infrastructure, the “Autonomous Region of the Azores met the requirements to be recognized as an EarthCheck reference destination”, and in “15 of the EarthCheck indicators evaluated, the Azores are at or above the reference level”.

The press release adds that “above the reference levels (‘baseline’), those that led the Azores to be recognized as an EarthCheck 2024 Reference Destination, are the following segments: greenhouse gas emissions, drinking water consumption, waste sent to landfill, percentage of compliant water analysis, habitat conservation and socioeconomic benefits”.

“The Azores were carefully selected to track performance in key areas of environmental and social impact performance. EarthCheck benchmarking provides an organization with a vehicle for sustainability reporting and is based on the premise of continuous improvement,” the document states.

In view of 2023, the Region now has another indicator “above the baseline”, namely greenhouse gas emissions, demonstrating the positive evolution of the assessment.

In best practices, the Azores are distinguished by the percentage of green areas, water savings and the safety of the destination.

EarthCheck’s regulations bring together a set of indicators that allow monitoring the performance of the Azores destination in areas related to sustainable development at an environmental, sociocultural and economic level.

Quoted in the press release, the regional secretary for Tourism, Berta Cabral, states that the results in question “demonstrate, once again, a positive evolution, even having another indicator above the reference levels and maintaining highlights in best practices”.

“This path of continuous improvement is something that makes us proud and to which we are very committed in a convinced and determined way”.

One dead and two seriously injured in road accident

A head-on collision between two vehicles left one person dead and two seriously injured, including a young child. The road accident occurred on Friday afternoon, on the São Vicente Ferreira road, in Ponta Delgada.

According to information from the commander of the Ribeira Grande Volunteer Firefighters, José Nuno Moniz, one of the drivers, a man in his 40s, was declared dead at the scene.

The other two victims, who were in the other vehicle, required a lot of care and were taken to the CUF hospital in Lagoa as an emergency.

It is a man and a child, aged between 7 and 8 years old.

The accident occurred after 5:00 pm, and the causes are not yet known.

The road was closed, with traffic being diverted to Estrada das Capelas.