“We are currently carrying out some more fieldwork and next week we will proceed with some missions, which we are preparing, to collect gases and water in the perimeter of the Santa Bárbara volcano,” stated geologist João Luís Gaspar, coordinator of the IVAR Crisis Office, in statements to Lusa.

The alert level for the Santa Bárbara volcano on Terceira Island in the Azores has risen again to V3 (volcanic system in reactivation phase), a level it had already reached in the summer of 2024.

Since June 2022, seismic activity at the Santa Bárbara volcano has been "above normal reference values," with the most energetic event occurring on January 14, 2024, with a magnitude of 4.5 on the Richter scale.

The volcanic alert level was at V3 between June and December 2024, but has remained at V2 (volcanic system in instability phase) since then.

According to João Luís Gaspar, the increase in the alert level occurred because there was an increase in seismic activity in the western part of Terceira Island during the months of September and October.

“It was linked not only to a higher number of recorded earthquakes, but, above all, to more earthquakes of slightly higher magnitudes, between 2 and 3 on the Richter scale. In addition to the slightly increased number of earthquakes, we also had an increase in the energy released,” he explained.

Added to this parameter is “some crustal deformation above the reference levels.”

However, the data emitted by the permanent stations in this area of ​​the island, 24 hours a day, do not indicate “any alteration of physicochemical parameters, nor of gases, nor of water.”

“This level 3 alert obliges us to develop further campaigns around the volcano to verify if there are any further alterations that may not be manifestable in terms of permanent networks. When it comes to the Civil Protection authorities, it means that it is the moment when there is a reassessment of the emergency planning that exists for these occasions,” pointed out the coordinator of the IVAR Crisis Office.

According to João Luís Gaspar, the current situation is very similar to what occurred in the summer of 2024.

“We continue with a pattern very similar to last year, only with signs of seismicity and crustal deformation,” emphasized João Luís Gaspar.

The seismovolcanic crisis on Terceira Island has already lasted more than three years, with alternating periods of greater and lesser energy release, which, according to the geologist, is normal in this type of phenomenon.

“We are experiencing a phase of greater energy release, but it is a phenomenon that, as a rule, has this type of pattern; it's not like a seismic crisis that begins with an earthquake and then has aftershocks that gradually decrease. Volcanic crises, as a general rule, have this very long development, lasting months, years, always with these oscillations,” he explained.

“That's why we have to monitor it, and the alerts indicate the degree of attention we should give to this type of phenomenon, whether in monitoring or in adopting preventive measures,” he added. At this stage, the crisis is "on a rising trend again," which requires monitoring "day by day, hour by hour, to understand how it will evolve."

When asked about the behaviour the island's population should adopt given this increased alert level, the coordinator of the IVAR Crisis Office said that what matters at this stage is following the guidelines of Civil Protection.

"The population is well informed and warned, because this crisis already began in 2022. Civil Defense authorities have been holding meetings and information sessions, which warn about the self-protection measures that can be adopted," he said.