A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck the Azores on Sunday, May 10th at 12:21 p.m., according to the Azores Seismovolcanic Information and Surveillance Center (CIVISA), with the epicenter located approximately three kilometers northwest of Santo Antão on the island of São Jorge.

The seismic event was widely felt throughout the Central Group islands and reached maximum intensity levels of V/VI on the Modified Mercalli Scale in the parishes of Santo Antão and Topo, within the municipality of Calheta on São Jorge.

According to CIVISA, the earthquake was also felt with intensity V in several other São Jorge communities, including Ribeira Seca, Calheta, Norte Pequeno, Norte Grande, Manadas, Urzelina, Santo Amaro, and Velas. In the parish of Rosais, the quake reached intensity IV.

On neighboring Pico Island, the earthquake was recorded with intensities of IV/V in the parishes of Piedade, Calheta de Nesquim, Ribeirinha, and Ribeiras in the municipality of Lajes do Pico, as well as Santo Amaro in the municipality of São Roque do Pico. The remainder of Pico experienced the quake with intensity IV.

The earthquake was also felt across the other islands of the Central Group, reaching intensity IV on Terceira Island and Graciosa Island, while on Faial Island the tremor was registered with intensity III.

No immediate reports of significant damage or injuries had been released at the time of publication.

Earthquakes are a frequent reality in the Azores, an archipelago situated along the complex tectonic boundary between the North American, Eurasian, and African plates. On islands such as São Jorge, where volcanic ridges rise sharply from the Atlantic and communities remain deeply conscious of seismic memory, even moderate earthquakes quickly revive awareness of the fragile geological foundations beneath everyday life.

For many residents of the Central Group, the tremor was a reminder that the Azores exist upon a landscape that is never entirely still — islands continuously shaped by the slow and invisible movements of the earth beneath the ocean.

Translated and adpated from RTP-Açores