The following is a list of notable natural disasters that have affected the Azores:

15th century

  • Around 1432: First recorded famine in the Azores.
  • 1439–1444 (undocumented): Volcanic eruption on São Miguel at Sete Cidades; details of the eruption were not recorded, not even the exact date of the event. Father Gaspar Frutuoso, who referenced the event in Saudades da Terra, noted that the inhabitants discovered that the topography of the eastern part of the island had changed radically, and that tree trunks and pumice were found floating in the ocean. Colonists from the settlement in what is now Povoação (in the eastern half of the island) heard sounds of explosions and felt many earthquakes leading to this event: "living, these discoverers, in their straw huts, they heard in the space of a year such great grinding, rattling and explosion of the earth with great tremors proceeding the subversion and fire of the peak..."
  • 1460?: Another volcanic eruption at Sete Cidades, São Miguel. No specific information was recorded at the time.

16th century

  • 1522: Considered the seminal disaster of the Azores, the 1522 Vila Franca earthquake and landslides occurred on 21–22 October 1522, that inundated and destroyed much of the provincial capital of Vila Franca do Campo, on the island of São Miguel. On the night of 21 and 22 October 1522, another violent earthquake brought down a great mudslide from the hills around Vila Franca do Campo, causing damage to the majority of the town and causing the burial alive of 5000 residents and nobles, with the Donatary-Captain Rui Gonçalves da Câmara escaping the event, owing to his stay in his summer cottage in Lagoa. Large mudslides also occurred in Maia, an area near Ponta Garça. The phenomena at Vila Franca inspired many writings, including one that has oral roots, entitled Novel of Vila Franca (Romance de Vila Franca), by Teófilo Braga, and had the effect of inspiring renewed devotion to the religious celebrations of the Holy Spirit. The resulting storm resulted in the abandon of the temple and, eventually its reconstruction into the interior, along with much of the settlement.

20th century

  • 1907 — An underwater eruption at the Mónaco Fracture. On 1 April founded a small eruption at a radius of 400 m at the depths of Banco Mónaco SSW of S. Miguel. It spewed out ashes from the submerged cape São Miguel - Faial.
  • 1911 — Underwater eruption in the Mónaco Fracture, in March, it caused a minor eruption located about 200 to 300 m in depth SSW in 1907, the eruption lasted several hours.
  • 1926 — A major earthquake shook the city of Horta. In early April, the island saw the first of a series of intensive earthquakes. On 5 April damage was reported in Flamengos, Ribeirinha, and Conceição. An earthquake on 31 August at 8.42 local time (10.42 GMT) caused eight deaths and further destruction in the towns of Horta and the parishes of Conceição, Praia do Almoxarife (ruining 220 homes), Flamengos, Feteira and Castelo Branco and most of Lomba do Pilar e o Salão. 4,138 homes and buildings were damaged or destroyed.
  • 1957–1958 — An eruption at Capelinhos, Faial, between 16 and 27 September 16, 1957, finally ending on 25 October 1958, ruined buildings and extended the land by an underwater eruption 1 km from Ponta dos Capelinhos. Many people emigrated to North America.
  • 1963 — An earthquake and an underwater eruption affected Santa Luzia in Pico between 12 and 15 December. It made seismographs from Faial registered a volcanic tremor at Cachorro, Santa Luzia on the north coast of the island of Pico. The tremor lasted from 13 to 14 December. On 15 December 15, with clear weather and good visibility, residents of Faial and Pico saw "balls of clouds of vapor" leaving from the front of Cachorro. None of these materials were collected and the phenomenon was not did not shook heavily and did not cause any damage.
  • 1964 — An earthquake shook the island of São Jorge in the area of Rosais and Velas, damaging 900 homes and 400 buildings, as well as causing panic on the island, leading to the evacuation of large numbers of Jorgenses to the island of Terceira and other islands. The crisis was caused by an underwater deep eruption off the coast of Rosais.
  • 1973 — An earthquake shook the islands of Pico and Faial. On 11 October residents felt numerous aftershocks on Pico, Faial, and São Jorge, particularly affecting the parish of São Mateus and the locality of Terra do Pão and Pico island. On 23 November at 12.36 local time (14.30 GMT) a violent earthquake (measured at 7/8 on the Wood-Neumann scale), with its epicenter near Santo Antonio on Pico, caused major damage, with many houses damaged, fallen walls and displaced streets and roads, in the parishes of Bandeiras Santa Luzia, Santo António, and São Roque on the north coast of Pico and São Mateus on the south coast and further destruction in the parishes of Conceição, Matriz, and Flamengos on the island of Faial.
  • 1980 — The 1 January earthquake devastated Terceira, São Jorge and Graciosa islands, occurring at 16.42 local time (18.42 GMT) and measuring 7 on the Richter Scale. The epicenter was located nearly 35 km SSW of Angra do Heroísmo. It caused damage to buildings in the city of Angra do Heroísmo. town of São Sebastião and the parishes of west and north-west Terceira and including Topo and Santo Antão, in São Jorge devastated Carapacho and Luz in Graciosa. The earthquake was one of the greatest recorded earthquakes in the Azores Islands. 71 people lost their lives, 400 were injured, nearly 15,500 homes were destroyed and 15,000 (about 5% of the Azorians) were homeless.
  • 1981 — An underwater eruption in Fractura Mónaco. At the beginning of July, a small underwater eruption about 300 m in depth was located in Banco Mónaco (SSW of São Miguel), it spewed gases and basaltic materials.
  • 1997 — An underwater eruption near Banco D. João de Castro -In the spring of 1997, the intense microseismic activity rumbled throughout that area and caused numerous earthquakes and aftershocks (I to III on the Mercali scale felt in Terceira and São Miguel islands lifted and created an underwater eruption.
  • 1997 — Mudslide in Ribeira Quente, São Miguel, on 31 October 1997. Nearly two hours of heavy rainfall on 31 October led to the creation of a mudslide over the hillsides of Outeiro das Freiras which left 114 persons from 36 families homeless.
  • 1998 — The 1998 Azores Islands earthquake on 9 July shook Faial, Pico and São Jorge at 5.19 GMT. Measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale with an epicenter NNE of the island of Faial, it caused damage to the parishes of Riberinha, Pedro Miguel, Salão and Cedros and more damage in Castelo Branco (mainly Lombega), Flamengos and Praia do Almoxarife on Faial. It also caused damage in parts of Pico Island and the far western part of the São Jorge Island. Eight people lost their lives in the earthquake; 1,700 were made homeless.
  • 1999–2000 — An underwater eruption shook Serreta on Terceira registering aftershocks in the area on 25 November 1998. Fishermen reported another eruption at the end of December.

21st century

  • Spring 2005 — Heavy rainfall deluged the Azores, causing mudslides and flooding throughout the islands. People were stranded in their houses and roads were closed; buildings, property, and some roads were damaged.
  • 2005 — Seismic crisis in Fogo-Congro-Monte Escuro. Over 40.000 earthquakes recorded by CIVISA and 100 felt in São Miguel Island. Earthquakes occurred on 20 September ( 4.1) and 21 September ( 4.0), causing concern in the island population. None or few buildings damaged during the swarms, but several landslides on Fogo volcano flanks.
  • 15 December 2009 — Heavy rainfall deluged the Azores, causing flooding throughout the islands; in the parish of Agualva, in the municipality of Praia da Vitória, flooding resulted in landslides, destruction of homes and automobiles, where the waters escaped the ravines. Oone person died, and dozens of inhabitants were affected by the events.
  • 3 December 2010 — The bad weather in the Azores during this period resulted in a "great sliding of land" on the island of Flores, which resulted in the obstruction of the road access to Fajãnzinha, impeding vehicles in this locality. Reports from the Serviço Regional de Protecção Civil (Regional Service for Civil Protection) indicated that there was no material damage or harm to people in the area (although some seniors were removed from the area for their safety). A similar landslide caused by torrential rainfall in Faial da Terra on the island of São Miguel caused three deaths and damage to various homes.
  • 11 January 2021 — A 5.4 magnitude earthquake hit the western Azores.

See also

  • List of Azores hurricanes

References

;Notes