Azores Situation Report Wednesday 24th January 2024
Road where landslide occurred on Terceira island closed indefinitely
The road where a landslide occurred on Sunday on the island of Terceira will remain closed until a solution is found to ensure the stability of the slope, the regional director of Public Works has said.
“For now, the information we have been able to provide is that we will keep the road closed for safety reasons. It is still very unstable and a little unsafe”.
On Sunday, at 07:19 local time (08:19 in Lisbon), an earthquake with magnitude 4.5 on the Richter scale was recorded and its epicentre was approximately one kilometre north-northwest (NNW) of the parish of Serreta, on the island Terceira.
According to the Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service (SRPCBA), “shortly after the earthquake, a landslide was recorded on the regional road in the parish of Raminho, which blocked the road”.
The section between Cabo do Raminho and Mata da Serreta was cleared on the same day, but “considering the instability of the slope” it was decided to keep it closed until an assessment was carried out by the Regional Civil Engineering Laboratory (LREC).
LREC technicians were on site on Monday, and “before the end of this week” the regional directorate of Public Works expects to receive the inspection report.
Only then should the technical options be studied, but “work of some size” would be necessary, which is why the regional director did not provide an “estimated date” for the reopening of the road.
The regional directorate of Public Works will still have to send specialist technicians to the site to better study the problem, but solutions could include placing nets on the slope or creating a support wall on the side of the road.
Pedro Azevedo visited the site today and found that stones continued to fall.
“Technically, the area is very sensitive. It is an area of slopes, which has many rocky strata and there were some fissures. It still can and will be at risk of some heavy elements falling,” he explained.
The regional directorate of Public Works is creating conditions, together with the regional directorate of Forestry Resources, to reestablish a forest path, which is used as an alternative path.
Buses cannot pass this way, so the connection from the west zone to the city of Angra do Heroísmo is made through the interior of the island.
The 4.5 earthquake on the Richter scale, recorded on Sunday, was the largest event since the beginning of the ongoing seismo-volcaeic crisis on the island of Terceira since June 2022.
According to the Azores Seismo-volcaeic Information and Surveillance Centre (CIVISA), the earthquake was felt with maximum intensity VI, on the Modified Mercalli scale, in the western zone of Terceira, having been felt with lesser intensity in the rest of the island and in São Jorge.
Azores with five nominees for the World Travel Awards
Terra Nostra Garden Hotel, Octant Furnas, Octant Ponta Delgada, SATA Air Azores and Azores Airlines are nominated for this year’s edition of the Tourism Oscars.
The 31st edition of the World Travel Awards 2024, the Tourism Oscars, named Terra Nostra Garden Hotel as the Best Boutique Hotel in Portugal.
“The art deco restaurant, with dishes inspired by Azorean products, the experience provided to guests in the botanical park and thermal water tank, as well as the atmosphere in perfect harmony with nature are just some of the characteristics that make this unit, the Bensaude Hotels Collection, a reference in global hospitality for the Tourism Oscars”, can be read in a press release.
The Octant Furnas was nominated in the Portugal’s Leading Green Hotel 2024 category, with the Octant Ponta Delgada being positioned in the Portugal’s Leading Lifestyle Hotel 2024 category.
SATA Group airlines – SATA Air Azores and Azores Airlines – were also nominated for the World Travel Awards 2024 in three important categories worldwide. SATA Air Azores is nominated in the category of Europe’s Leading Regional Airline 2024, while Azores Airlines is among those nominated in the categories of Europe’s Leading Airline to North America 2024. from Europe to North America 2024) and from Europe’s Leading Airline Brand 2024.
“These appointments represent recognition of the work that SATA Group airlines have been developing and reinforce their growth prospects both in terms of routes, demand, connectivity and services offered to passengers, as well as in terms of their own Brand”, declared the Azorean air carrier.
Voting is available online until February 4th and the winners will be revealed during the awards ceremony that will take place in Berlin, Germany, on March 4th.
The World Travel Awards were created in 1993 to recognise, reward and celebrate excellence across all key sectors of the travel, tourism and hospitality industry, and are currently recognized as the sector’s mark of excellence.
According to a statement from IPMA, the Hipolito depression, with an associated frontal system, will be, at 06:00 on Thursday, “centered around 300 km southwest (SW) of Faial, with pressure at its center 980 hPa”.
Finally, the IPMA placed the two islands in the Western group of the Azores (Flores and Corvo) on yellow warning, due to sea agitation (waves from the west, temporarily passing northwest, until 11pm on Tuesday), due to wind (direction of south, rotating southwest, between 11:00 local time and 8:00 pm on Tuesday) and due to sometimes heavy precipitation (between 2:00 pm local time and 8:00 pm on Tuesday).
The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) raised the warning issued for the islands in the Eastern group of the Azores (São Miguel and Santa Maria) to orange due to the forecast of heavy rain for this Tuesday.