In a statement, the IPMA said that the most energetic tremors occurred on June 15 (magnitude 3.3 on the Richter scale) and the following day (magnitude 3.7).

Six of the earthquakes recorded on the island of São Miguel “were reported as felt, with the one that occurred on June 16th, at 9:55 pm, being felt with maximum intensity III/IV in the municipality of Povoação, with more than a dozen other earthquakes with characteristics that could also have been felt, although there is no confirmation that this happened”.

The increase in seismic activity, since June 4th, has occurred in a submerged area located approximately 10 to 25 kilometres south/southeast of Ribeira Quente, in the municipality of Povoação, on the island of São Miguel.

“This type of seismic activity is characteristic and relatively frequent in the Azores archipelago, an example of which, among many others, is the seismic crises that occurred northwest of Faial (2014, 2015 and 2019)”.

The same note states that seismic activity has also occurred in another more remote area, located southeast of São Miguel, in Fossa da Povoação (area of ​​the Formigas islets), with the most significant event, on June 13, reaching magnitude 4.6 and being slightly felt, with a maximum intensity of III, in Povoação.

“The pattern of this recent seismic activity indicates that seismic activity may continue to occur in the coming hours or days,” it reads.

The IPMA assures that, through its seismic network in the Azores and its Seismic Surveillance Centers in the Azores and at its headquarters in Lisbon, it continues to monitor the situation, issuing statements “whenever deemed relevant”.