5.3 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Portugal’s Coastal Region

The An earthquake was about 5.4 magnitude, according to the US Geophysical Institute, USGS, and the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, which struck at dawn on Monday morning.

The Sines, Lisbon, and Setúbal areas recorded the most intense shaking.Social media testimony indicates that people felt it as far away as Porto and even in Spain and Morocco.

5.4 Earthquake Reported Off Portugal’s Coast Monday Morning

The Portuguese Sea and Atmosphere Institute updated the earthquake’s magnitude to 5.3 on the Richter scale.

According to IPMA, the earthquake occurred at 5:11 am local time, which would be 6:11 am CET. Its epicentre was a location 58 kilometres west of Sines, in the open sea, at a depth of 21 kilometres.

Commander José Miranda from the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) stated, “We have received numerous calls, particularly from individuals seeking information about the situation and guidance on appropriate actions. As of now (6:00 am local time), we have not yet been able to tally the total number of calls received.”

According to Miranda, there are no reports of victims or major damage at this time. He stated that they are assessing potential cracks in buildings on a street in Sesimbra following the incident. The Portuguese government announced it is collaborating with all relevant services in response to the quake.

It confirmed that up to then there hadn’t been reports of personal or material damage and urged the public to keep calm and support guidelines designated by the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority.

It was not big enough to create a tsunami in the US East Coast or Europe.

Over 2,000 people reported the earthquake from Monday via the United States Geological Survey’s tool “Did you feel it?”

Keira McCann informed The Diplomat News that they felt the entire building tremble above their ground-floor apartment, as if the floor was sinking. The loud noise startled our dogs awake, leaving them quite agitated. We certainly did not anticipate encountering such an experience in Portugal.”

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Earthquake felt in Lisbon, throughout Portugal’s coast

Although they reported no injuries, residents along the coast of Portugal, including in Lisbon, experienced light to moderate tremors.

The Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere in Portugal reported that they detected at least four low-intensity aftershocks.

Vera Fassbender, who lives in Lisbon, also said she “felt it shaking for 3-5 seconds”.

“I am on the 8th floor. It was a light shaking but very noticeable and also a bit scary!”

People in parts of Morocco, including the Casablanca area, also felt the earthquake.

Rimah Oubella from Casablanca stated, “At first, I believed I was merely trembling in my sleep until my brother hurried to awaken me and informed me that he had experienced it as well.”

“Not too strong of a shake but enough for the bed and my body to move.”

The USGS reports no earthquakes occurred within 400 km of today’s epicenter in the last 30 days.

Even though none have occurred as of late, Portugal-in essence, from the southern area up through the Azores-is normally regarded as near the boundary between the Eurasian and African tectonic plates. Its position thus puts it prone to seismic events such as earthquakes.

The country experiences a number of light earthquakes every year, which are usually less than a magnitude of 3.0. The citizenry barely feels these shakes, and they never cause any damage.

 Earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.0 to 5.0 are much rarer but do happen quite often.People can feel these shakes, and they might even cause small structural damages.

Monday’s tremor was the country’s strongest since 2009, when a 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck the southern coast.

Among the deadliest quakes in history, the Great Lisbon earthquake of 1755 is believed to have had a magnitude of 8.5 to 9.0, and at least 50,000 people lost their lives — perhaps as many as 10,000 of them in Morocco.

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