Early on Monday morning, an earthquake with a Richter scale estimated magnitude of 5.4 occurred, according to the US Geophysical Institute (USGS) and the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Centre.
The Sines, Lisbon, and Setúbal regions experienced the strongest shocks. According to social media posts, the earthquake was felt all the way to Porto and even as far away as Spain and Morocco.
Since then, the Portuguese Sea and Atmosphere Institute (IPMA) has revised the earthquake’s Richter scale magnitude to 5.3.
The IPMA reports that the earthquake occurred at 5:11 a.m. local time (6:11 a.m. CET), with an epicentre located 58 kilometers west of Sines on the high seas and at a depth of 21 kilometers.
“A large number of calls were placed to us, mostly from individuals inquiring about the situation and what action they should take. We still haven’t been able to tally the number of calls we’ve received as of this morning (6:00 am local time),” stated Commander José Miranda of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC).
Miranda claims that as of right now, there are no reports of casualties or significant damage.
“We only have information at this time about a situation in a street in Sesimbra in which possible cracks in buildings are being assessed,” he stated.
The Portuguese government said in a statement released early on Monday morning that it was “in close coordination with all the relevant services” in the wake of the earthquake.
The National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority’s advice was urged to be followed, and the public was reassured that there had been no reports of material or personal damage.
The earthquake was not strong enough to cause a tsunami to hit Europe or the US East Coast.
Almost 2,000 people used the United States Geological Survey’s (USGS) “Did you feel it?” tool to report the earthquake that occurred on Monday.
The entire building trembled above us, and the floor beneath us felt as though it were sinking. We are on the ground floor of an apartment. Our dogs were frantic when they woke up, Keira McCann said to BNO News. “This is not what we expected to happen in Portugal.”
Lisbon resident Vera Fassbender added that she “felt it shaking for 3-5 seconds”.
“I’m on the eighth level. There was a slight but noticeable tremble that was also a little unsettling.
Some regions of Morocco, including the Casablanca region, also felt the effects of the earthquake.
“I thought I was just shaking while sleeping, but then my brother woke me up properly and told me he felt it too,” Casablanca resident Rimah Oubella remarked.
The USGS reports that during the past 30 days, there have been no earthquakes within 400 km of the current epicentre.
Portugal, particularly its southern region and the Azores, are situated close to the border between the African and Eurasian tectonic plates, even though there hasn’t been any seismic activity recently. Because of its location, the region is vulnerable to seismic activity, including earthquakes.
Every year, the nation is hit by a number of small earthquakes with a magnitude of less than 3.0, most of which are not felt by the populace or result in significant damage.
While they are less frequent, earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 5.0 still happen frequently. People are able to feel these, and they may even cause minor harm.
The nation has not experienced a stronger earthquake since 2009, when a 5.6-magnitude tremor struck the south coast. This one struck on Monday.
With an estimated magnitude of 8.5–9.0, one of the worst earthquakes ever recorded occurred in 1755. Called the Great Lisbon earthquake, it claimed the lives of at least 50,000 people, 10,000 of whom were thought to have been in Morocco.
