Alex Trelinski
AN EARTHQUAKE expert says Monday’s tremor in Portugal which was felt in large parts of southern Spain was the ‘most significant incident’ of its kind so far this year.
The National Geographic Institute(IGN) initially classified it as a magnitude 5.0 quake on the Richter Scale but later downgraded it to 4.4.
It meant the tremor was on the border of being ‘significant’ or low-magnitude.
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Professor Manuel Alonso Chaves from the the University of Huelva’s Earth Sciences department says it needs to be studied further, especially as it was in the same vicinity as another quake last year.
“This was in an area very close to another significant tremor on August 26, 2024,” he said.
“What is striking about it and what has been known is that it is possibly related to a fault line that has a south-west orientation with part of it running the River Tagus valley flowing into Lisbon,” he added.
With the two events, Chaves said the area is ‘tectonically active’.
He emphasised that Monday’s quake was the most important ‘so far this year’.
“That magnitude of 4.4 is similar to the energy generated by a nuclear test with the epicentre some 250 kilometres from Huelva City.”
“The vibration generated by this release of energy made it felt in the city and especially on upper floors of buildings,” he commented.
He concluded: “There is no cause for any alarm, except you should bear in mind that are people far from the epicentre who felt some tremors.”
