The lush volcanic island of mid-Atlantic Sao Jorge, where he grew up, has been hit by more than 14,000 small earthquakes in the last seven days. Viveiros and other experts fear that the tremors, which have reached magnitudes of up to 3.3 on the Richter scale, could cause a volcanic eruption for the first time since 1808 or a strong earthquake. read more Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register “My house is in an active volcanic system,” said Viveiros, who works for the area’s CIVISA volcanic surveillance center. “When (something happens) in our house we have to be a little cold-blooded, so that our emotions do not affect our thinking,” he added. “But the emotions are there because they are my home, my people.” Viveiros was holding a yellow machine on her back to measure ground gas in Sao Jorge. Soil gases, such as carbon dioxide and sulfur, are indicators of volcanic activity, and Viveiro and her team have been battling the rain and strong winds of Sao Jorge for days to find answers. So far the levels remain normal. The sudden increase in seismic activity on the island is reminiscent of the earthquakes that occurred before the eruption of Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma in Spain last year, about 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) southeast of the Azores. Over 85 days, this eruption destroyed thousands of properties and crops. read more Viveiros, who traveled to La Palma at the time to support the Canary Islands Volcanology Institute and monitor ground gas there, said Sao Jorge’s volcanic system was similar to that on the Spanish island. “One of the possible scenarios on the table is that we see something similar to what happened in La Palma,” he added. ‘ANOMALY’ Spanish and other international teams of experts are ready to travel to Sao Jorge if needed, Viveiro said. CIVISA raised the volcanic alarm to Level 4 on Wednesday, which means there is a “real chance” the volcano will erupt. read more Jose Boliero, president of the Azores, an autonomous community in Portugal, said the number of earthquakes that hit Sao Jorge in recent days was twice as high as last year. “There is clearly an anomaly,” he told reporters. Although authorities said the blast was not imminent, about 1,500 people have fled the island by air or sea in recent days. Many have no idea when they will be able to return. read more Arriving by helicopter, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Souza visited Sao Jorge on Sunday to attend a briefing on the situation and calm the local population. He also visited a historic tower that survived the eruption of 1808. Later Sunday, the Rebelo de Sousa interacts with locals in Calheta, a town in the eastern part of the island where people have sought refuge. Most of the seismic activity was on the west side of Sao Jorge. He drank a traditional Azores distillate, kissed and hugged members of the crowd and took selfies with them. Dozens of soldiers have mobilized in Sao Jorge where they live in large tents with beds that could accommodate 100 people in case of evacuation. The municipalities of Sao Jorge have also converted various facilities into temporary reception centers. As troops worked behind him, Major Rodolfo Romeiro told Reuters that more resources would be sent to the island next week. “Our mission is to help the people,” Romero said. “In these situations the motivation (of the armed forces) is even greater.” Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Catarina Demony, Guillermo Martinez and Pedro Nunes. Edited by Pravin Char and Paul Simao Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
