A 5.4 Richter earthquake struck off the coast of Portugal in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The quake happened at 5:11 AM local time, with its epicenter situated in the Atlantic Ocean of Sines.
The earthquake was felt in many Portuguese municipalities, including the districts of Lisbon and Setúbal, along with Sines. Towns looking at Seville, from Porto to Spain and Morocco also reported their buildings shaking. Although the shaking was felt across multiple states, fortunately, no significant building damage or injuries have been reported.
The Portuguese Sea and Atmosphere Institute (IPMA) has confirmed that the earthquake was accompanied by three small aftershocks, which measured 1.2, 1.1, and on the Richter scale 0.9, respectively. The National Civil Protection Authority has confirmed that the earthquake does not pose a tsunami risk because these events only happen with earthquakes of magnitude 6 or higher.
The Portuguese government called for “a collective spirit, serenity, and support” to adhere to safety rules. The President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is following the case and has been in touch with the authorities.
It is the strongest earthquake felt in Lisbon since 1969, according to geophysicist Jorge Miguel Miranda. Indeed, despite being an earthquake-prone region. There was a much deadlier magnitude 8.9 quake at Lisbon that killed as many as 100,000 people in 1,755. Such lethal events are indeed rare by human standards and on average have only occurred approximately once per century going back well over the last millennium.
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