Porto feels Spanish earthquake
“Mild” earthquake felt on mainland
An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.1 on the Richter scale and an epicentre about 35 kilometres south-southwest of Cape Finisterre, in Spain, was felt yesterday in Santo Tirso, Póvoa de Lanhoso and Ponte Lima.
According to a note from the Portuguese Weather Institute, IPMA, the event took place at 2:44 pm and was recorded at stations of the Mainland Seismic Network.
The earthquake with an epicentre 35 kilometres from Cape Finisterra, in the province of A Coruña, in Spain, “was felt with maximum intensity III” on the modified Mercalli scale, in the municipality of Santo Tirso, in Porto.
It was also felt, albeit with less intensity, in the municipalities of Póvoa de Lanhoso, in Braga, and Ponte de Lima, in Viana do Castelo.
An earthquake with a magnitude between 4.0 and 4.9 on the Richter scale is considered “mild”, and is unlikely to cause damage.
The Modified Mercalli Scale measures “degrees of intensity and their description”. A level III on this scale refers to a “weak” event, which can be “felt indoors”, and its “vibration is similar to that caused by the passage of heavy vehicles”, reads IPMA’s website.
