This Sunday, an earthquake caused several stone walls to collapse in parishes west of Terceira island, Azores, especially in Raminho and Serreta. The municipality and the regional government are still surveying the damage, but they have different versions of the alternative access route between the two parishes.
The main road between Raminho and Serreta has been closed for a year, and access between the two parishes is via a forestry path. In November, 400,000 euros was awarded for a contract with a three-month deadline.
On Sunday afternoon, several earthquakes were recorded in Terceira. The largest, with a magnitude of 4.2 on the Richter scale, had its epicenter 3km east of Serreta and was felt in practically the entire island at 16h51.
According to CIVISA, the earthquake was felt with a maximum intensity of VI on the Modified Mercalli Scale in the Serreta, Raminho, Altares, Doze Ribeiras, and Santa Bárbara parishes.

The mayor of Angra do Heroísmo, Álamo Meneses, told DI (Diário Insular Newspaper) that the alternative forest path was impassable for several hours due to the stones from the walls that fell with the earthquake.
Although it wasn’t his responsibility, the municipality sent a contractor to the site to clear the road, he said. “For safety reasons, we couldn’t allow it to remain closed,” he told DI.
Álamo Meneses also lamented the condition of the alternative road, warning once again of the danger of a larger earthquake.
“There’s a Tecnovia sign there, but nothing has been done yet. The work hasn’t started yet,” he warned. “The sidewalk is disastrous. It’s very difficult to drive on,” he added.
The municipality is still surveying fallen walls on municipal roads, but the mayor pointed out that many fallen walls exist in Cerrado, which could represent thousands of euros in losses for farmers.

When questioned by DI, the Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Food, António Ventura, said that he had already instructed the Agrarian Development Services on Terceira island to survey the material damage on site.

As for the alternative road, he denied that it had been impassable and said that the farmers had cleared the stones that had fallen onto the road in the late afternoon.
António Ventura also said that the company awarded the paving work contract, which has been on-site “since the end of last year.” Last week, Berta Cabral, the regional secretary for Tourism, Mobility, and Infrastructure, said that the work should be finished by March 2025.

In Diário Insular–José Lourenço, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.