Azores Situation Report Wednesday February 22nd 2023

4.1 earthquake on the Richter scale felt off the island of Santa Maria in the Azores 

An earthquake of 4.1 on the Richter scale was felt on the island of Santa Maria, in Vila do Porto, São Pedro, Almagreira and Santo Espírito, revealed today the Civil Protection.

On the Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service website, it is reported that the earthquake was recorded by the Azores  Information and Surveillance Centre (CIVISA), at 22:40 local time on Monday (23:40 in Lisbon) , with an epicentre about 51 kilometres east of Santo Espírito, on the island of Santa Maria, located in the eastern group of the Azorean archipelago.

“According to the information available so far, the earthquake was felt with maximum intensity III/IV (Modified Mercalli Scale) in Vila do Porto, São Pedro, Almagreira and Santo Espírito (municipality of Vila do Porto)”, adds the Protection Civil.

The Modified Mercalli Scale measures the “degrees of intensity and respective description” and, when there is an intensity of IV, considered “Moderate”, “parked cars shake”, “windows, doors and dishes shake” and “glasses and dishes collide or jingle”, walls or wooden structures can creak, reveals the Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) on its website.

With intensity III, considered Weak, the shock is “felt inside the house” and “the hanging objects sway”, feeling a “vibration similar to that caused by the passage of heavy vehicles”, according to the IPMA.

Azores promote literary contest in mother tongue for immigrants. 

A literary contest will distinguish original literary texts in the Azores, written in the mother tongue of immigrants residing in the region, an initiative that aims to promote “interculturality” and “greater knowledge about the different communities existing in the archipelago”, was announced today.

The literary contest “Saudades da Terra”, in the area of ​​immigration, is promoted by the regional directorate of the Communities, in partnership with the air carrier SATA Azores Airlines, as part of the celebrations of the International Mother Language Day, marked annually on February 21st.

According to a press release published on the Regional Government’s website, the initiative is aimed at all immigrants residing in the Azores.

The works in competition must be “texts in any literary genre, original and unpublished”, which address “the personal perspective of the competitors, with a minimum age of 18, about the host society”, adds the Azorean Government (PSD/CDS- PP/PPM).

The competition aims to promote interculturality and encourage greater knowledge about the different communities and nationalities existing in the archipelago, through the production of literary texts, written in their mother tongue, which convey the vision of their authors about the Azores.

The winner will be awarded an airline ticket for two people, departing from any Azorean airport to all destinations operated by SATA Azores Airlines.

Applications must be sent by April 21, 2023, using a form to the email address ‘ saudadesdaterra.drc@azores.gov.pt ‘.

International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by UNESCO in 1999 and later recognized by the UN in 2002, with the aim of “protecting and safeguarding all languages ​​spoken in the world, honouring cultural traditions and respecting linguistic diversity”, stresses the Directorate Regional Communities.

Iberia with flights from Ponta Delgada in summer 

Spanish airline Iberia is planning flights between Faro and Ponta Delgada in the summer of 2023.

Antonio Linares, sales director for Iberia in Spain and Portugal, has said that he is “moderately optimistic” for 2023 and that the airline wants to maintain its commitment to the Portuguese market. Thus, for Portugal, the Spanish airline wants to maintain a “broad and stable flight schedule” this year.

In the summer of 2023, normal operations will continue from Lisbon, Porto and Funchal, but Iberia destinations will also be reached from Faro and Ponta Delgada; more details will be revealed soon, guarantees

 

Azores Situation Report Wednesday 15th February 2023

Azores break record for overnight stays in tourist accommodation in 2022 

The Azores accounted for around 3.2 million overnight stays in tourist accommodation in 2022, an amount above that of 2019, in which a record value had been recorded, according to data from the Regional Statistics Service (SREA).

In the year 2022, in the range of tourist accommodation establishments (hotels, apartment hotels, tourist apartments, inns, rural tourism units and local accommodation units) in the Azores, 3,215.4 thousand overnight stays were recorded, a higher figure by 65.7% compared to the year 2021.

According to data from the Azores Regional Statistics Service, the value for 2022 is the highest since there have been records, surpassing the 2019 record (3,009,385 overnight stays), by 6.8%.

Overnight stays from tourists residing abroad (1,945.4 thousand) more than doubled compared to the same period last year (149.4%), surpassing those of tourists residing in Portugal (1,270.0 thousand), which also registered an increase, but less accentuated (9.4%).

Azores always available for a “good reception” of immigrants 

The President of the Government of the Azores, José Manuel Bolieiro, said that the region is a “welcoming community”, which is “always available” to promote a “good reception” of immigrants, whether for economic or humanitarian reasons.

“We are a welcoming community. We have done this in all situations where there is migration for economic reasons and for humanitarian reasons, fleeing persecution or war. We have always been a welcoming community. Today, as always, the Azores and this government will be available for good integration and a good reception”, he said, when asked about the migration policy in the region.

He was speaking to journalists at the Palácio da Conceição, in Ponta Delgada, after a meeting of the Regional Advisory Council for Immigration Affairs.

Carnival returns to the streets in São Miguel with Coliseum dances almost sold out. 

Carnival returns to the streets in São Miguel after two years of interregnum due to the pandemic, with parades, the Battle of Limas and dances, including the one at the Coliseu Micaelense, with an “almost sold out” capacity.

“There is great demand. The two dances, the one on Friday and the one on Monday, are almost sold out”, said today the chairman of the board of directors of the Coliseu Micaelense, Cila Simas.

The first Carnival celebration dated back to 1918 at the Coliseu Micaelense, in Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel.  Three years later, gala balls began at that venue, with women wearing long dresses and men in black suits, a tradition that is repeated annually during the Carnival season, only suspended due to the covid-19 pandemic. .

“There is a lot of Carnival events on offer, which makes people divide. But the Coliseum maintains the same percentage of participants as in years prior to the pandemic”, highlighted Cila Simas, stressing that there is a great affinity of the public with the traditional Carnival galas at the concert hall.

“This is a ball with great traditions and always has a faithful audience”, underlined the person responsible for the Coliseu Micaelense, a building from the beginning of the 20th century.

President of SATA says that there are already interested parties in the privatization of Azores Airlines 

The president of SATA Holding, SA, Luís Rodrigues, announced that there are at least “half a dozen interested parties” in the privatization of 51% of Azores Airlines, even without the terms of reference having been concluded.

Flights between the Azores and North America with “great demand” 

The president of SATA stated that renting an Airbus A330 plane to connect the Azores to North America during the summer is the “most profitable solution”, revealing that the flights are in “great demand”.

Speaking to the Lusa agency, Luís Rodrigues said that the company will rent (in a leasing service) an Airbus A330 to the Spanish airline Plus Ultra Líneas Aérea, which will serve “fundamentally” to connect Oakland, California, to the Azorean archipelago.

 

 

Azores Situation Report Wednesday 8th February 2023

From our colleague in the Azores

Government of the Azores will invest in the region’s Coastal Station 

Created in 2003, the Coastal Station supports the fishing sector and recreational and commercial nautical activities, through weather information and warnings, closing and opening notices for authorized fishing periods or information on the prices of fish from fish auctions in the Azores.

It works in collaboration with the Maritime Authority, the Search and Rescue Centre of Ponta Delgada, the Guidance Centre for Urgent Patients at Sea, the Portuguese Air Force and the Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service.

Manuel São João said that, “immediately, this service will have better interconnection of the Sea-Sea and Land-Sea communications circuits, all the computer hardware will be renewed and the long-range MF/HF radio coverage will be reinforced until around 400 miles”.

There will be complete modernization of the entire network of relays and antennas on several islands is planned, as well as the updating of the control station systems, the increase in coverage in areas that currently have limitations, namely the installation of a new VHF station on Terceira Island. and in Corvo, the installation of MF/HF on the island of Faial and the preparation of new digital communication systems for sending and receiving emails and automated meteorological information.

 Body awaits funeral in the Azores for more than seven months. 

A middle-aged man, who was found dead on June 30th last year, in the house where he lives, in the city of Horta, is still waiting for his funeral, more than seven months after his death.

The case was confirmed by the Public Relations office of Hospital da Horta, where the corpse has been stored in a cold chamber since the date of death, as no family member has claimed the body.

In addition, according to the same source, the corpse in question was autopsied on July 7^th, 2022, by order of the Public Ministry, to try to determine the cause of death, but until today the Hospital has never received authorization to release the body and proceed with the funeral.

The body of this person, who was not a native of Faial and who had no relatives on the island, was moved more than once, due to a malfunction in the cold chambers of the Hospital, it has been stored in a cold container, outside that health unit, for most of the time.

This is not, however, the first case of a corpse waiting several months for a funeral on the island of Faial.

A citizen of foreign nationality, who also died in June last year, after a car accident, was also waiting for the body to be released by the Public Ministry, so that the family can carry out the funeral.

 

Ponta Delgada now has an urgent care service. 

The Health Unit on the island of São Miguel will have an urgent care service at its headquarters in Ponta Delgada, aiming to free the hospital for hospital services.

The urgent care service in Ponta Delgada – which already operates in other municipalities on the island of São Miguel, is being built for situations of moderate or lesser severity.

Seven new doctors will reinforce the Regional Health Service and will be distributed across the island of São Miguel in areas that are most in need such as the Northeast, Povoação, Ginetes and Maia”, aiming to provide an ever closer, faster and more effective response within the scope of what primary health care is.

In addition to the urgent care service, the Health Unit on the island of São Miguel will promote complementary and extra daily consultations to relieve the pressure of the Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo.

 

 

Azores Situation Report Wednesday 1^st February 2023

From our colleague in the Azores

Government of the Azores charters ship to supply Flores Island next week.

The Secretary for Tourism, Mobility and Infrastructure of the Government of the Azores announced that the executive will charter the ship Ponta do Sol to supply the island of Flores from next week.

The Monte Brasil ship has already left Leixões and will try to unload next Saturday, but if the weather does not allow it, the cargo will remain in the port of Ponta Delgada and Ponta do Sol will make the connection to Flores from next week.

The ships that arrived here from Transinsular have already cancelled supplies to the island three times.

In the statement, the Regional Government emphasizes that the executive has “several instruments and various tools” to “always resolve the supply of Flores”.

Berta Cabral also recalls that, in addition to Hurricane Lorenzo that caused “serious damage” in the port of Lajes in 2019, the Efrain depression, in December, also caused constraints to the operation of that infrastructure that guarantees supply to the island.

The ship Monte Brasil, which was supposed to arrive in Flores on Thursday, is delayed and the unloading operation could be at risk because, meanwhile, a worsening of sea conditions is expected.

Gasoline in the Azores drops 6.9 cents per litre on Wednesday and diesel 6.3 cents. 

The price of gasoline in the Azores drops 6.9 cents per litre on Wednesday and the price of diesel 6.3 cents per litre, according to a dispatch published in the Official Journal.

In February, the price of 95-octane unleaded gasoline in the Azores drops from 1,532 euros per litre to 1,463 euros (6.9 cents).

The price of diesel, which in January was also set at 1.532 euros per litre, is now 1.469 euros, which represents a difference of 6.3 cents.

Chamber advances with requalification of the historic centre of Ponta Delgada 

The Ponta Delgada City Council will proceed with the requalification of the historic centre, a “soft” intervention that will respect the heritage and the experience of citizens, revealed the municipality.

In a press release sent today to the newsrooms, the Ponta Delgada municipality informs that “it will proceed with the requalification” of the historic centre of the city, indicating that the intervention begins “on January 30, on Rua Açoriano Oriental”.

The council of the island of São Miguel had launched a contest of ideas for the requalification of the historic centre of Ponta Delgada.