Breaking news this morning is the 4.9 magnitude earthquake that rumbled the ground beneath Lisbon and beyond just before midday, even being felt by those in high-rise buildings.
The quake had its epicentre 7kms from Arraiolos, north of Évora, reports Público and was felt as far afield as Viseu and Coimbra, and even over the border in Spain.
In the capital, one Rodrigo Saraiva tweeted that he was on the 6th floor of a building in Marquês Pombal and “everything trembled, not just a bit”.
For now, there are no reports of any damage or injuries.
This is the largest tremor to have been felt so far this year. On January 5, the borough of Odemira trembled with a 3.6 magnitude earthquake felt for various kms
For more details see IPMA’s website, under seismic activity.
This particular quake was measured at coming from a depth of 12 kms, while the sizeable quake of January 5 came from a depth of just 9kms.
In both magnitude was measured on the Richter Scale, and there have since been various smaller replicas.
A school close to the epicentre was evacuated and the children can still be seen on television this afternoon, waving at television cameras as they remain outside the building.
According to reports, “small cracks” have been detected in the structure, but nothing (as yet) too serious.
By the time this news hit the evening news, the size of the earthquake was being credited as the largest tremor for the last 58 years.
natasha.donn@algarveresident.com
