São Jorge to get a permanent carbon dioxide station

Web camera already installed

acorianooriental.pt reports that seismovolcanic monitoring authority “CIVISA plans to install, probably at the beginning of next week, a station to measure the flux of carbon dioxide from soils on a permanent basis. We are doing daily profiles. We have three radon stations installed, but we are in the phase of bringing to São Jorge a permanent carbon dioxide station”, said the coordinator of CIVISA’s operations on the island of São Jorge, Fátima Viveiros.

In the daily ‘briefing’ to update the seismovolcanic crisis that has been taking place for more than two weeks on that Azorean island, Fátima Viveiros stressed that the network of seismic stations “has been increased according to available means”.

“We are adapting to the daily situation”, underlined the researcher.

The operations coordinator said that “on Monday afternoon, CIVISA installed a web camera in the Terreiro da Macela area and, today or on Wednesday, another one will be installed in Velas “for viewing the south coast”.

“The Terreiro da Macela is a high area that allows you to see the central area of ​​the island of São Jorge, therefore, the fissure complex of the Manadas is aligned. It is one of the central areas”, he justified.

These cameras allow tracking of “any changes” that occur in the landscape, he added.

In the same briefing, the president of the Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service reinforced the appeal for the population to remain vigilant.

“Neither these increases should alarm people, nor the decreases should relax people. It is to keep the record they have kept, to comply with the information and recommendations of official entities”, said Eduardo Faria, referring to the fact that there were, among the 00:00 and 10:00 am yesterday, “one record higher” than on Monday.

Eduardo Faria informed that “the reconnaissance of usable ports throughout the island, small ports, fajãs and paths is almost finished” for an eventual evacuation, a work carried out by elements of the Armed Forces, specifically by the Marines of the Navy, through drones.

The Azores Operational Command has also supported the Regional Civil Protection Service with unmanned aerial means and systems in the reconnaissance of ports around the island of São Jorge.

“At the moment, we have a detailed reconnaissance, the locations are identified. From the access, as well as the level of operational conditions with different weather conditions that may occur”, in the event of an evacuation of the island, the lieutenant colonel explained to journalists Rui Costa, from the Azores Operational Command.

According to Rui Costa, “largely” on the south side “has already been carried out” this reconnaissance in detail, with “the north side” of the island being “finished”.

“During today we have two more recognitions (in Fajã das Pontas and Fajã dos Cubres) and on Wednesday we continue and keep the point of Meeting and Irradiation of Displaced People ready and active, if necessary for the Regional Service of Civil Protection”, he detailed.

About 2,500 people have already left the municipality of Velas, the centre of the seismic crisis, of which 1,500 to other islands in the Azores, and the rest to the neighbouring municipality of Calheta, considered safer by experts.

The island maintains volcanic alert level V4 (eruption threat) out of a total of seven, where V0 stands for “resting state” and V6 “eruption in progress”.