Earthquake activity causes displacement of 1,500 people on Sao Jorge island

Lisbon, 25 Mar Some 1,500 people left the municipality of Velas, on the Azorean island of São Jorge, due to the constant low-intensity seismic activity that has been registered for a week, its mayor, Luis Silveira, told Efe this Friday. The Navy and Air Force are helping to coordinate the situation and more military personnel will arrive on the island this Friday. About a hundred people who were at the Velas health center and a nursing home have already been evacuated to Calheta, a municipality on the other side of the island. The president of the Azores Volcanic Earthquake Information and Monitoring Centre (CIVISA), Rui Marques, alerted journalists in statements that the rain expected to take place these days, together with seismic activity, could cause collapses on the island. The Civil Protection of Velas spread a message to the population in which, “based on the volcanic seismovolcanic crisis, coupled with weather conditions”, it prohibits passage to the municipality's fajanas and recommends that the neighbors leave the area. It also advises the population “in a preventive way” to have emergency equipment prepared that must contain a portable radio, flashlight, batteries, hygiene case, water and canned food for two or three days, first aid kit, sturdy clothing and footwear and a waterproof case to store documentation. The animals will also move to safe places, assured the regional secretary of agriculture and rural development of the Azores. The President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, spoke today with the president of the Azores government, José Manuel Bolieiro, to learn about the situation and the measures planned and taken on the island, the Presidency reported. The island of São Jorge, with about 8,500 inhabitants and 54 kilometers long and 6.9 wide, is part of the Central Group of the Portuguese archipelago of Azores located in Atlantic waters, more than 1,600 kilometers off the coast of continental Portugal. BOSS. bbo/sea/pddp