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Azores – Evacuations Begin as Seismic Crisis Unfolds in Atlantic
- metadat 5y agoThis is terrifying and scary sounding, there is still so much we don't understand about the earth. It seems we are involved in quite a dangerous experiment as society continues to scale out and consume resources at an ever increasing rate. Are we most likely screwed as a species in the medium term? Is the best plan really to rely on the benevolent leadership and good intentions of low-EQ celebrities like Elon Musk and Uncle Jeff Bezos along with the government to save us from catastrophe? I sure hope we (and our children) aren't stuck on a dead end path, but sometimes it seems quite probable. We can't even stop putín from doing crazy stupid murderous shit because we are rightly afraid of a ww3 nuclear holocaust. This doesn't even start to address the reality that the universe doesn't care whether or not humanity continues to exist. It's frustrating and depressing.
- senthil_rajasek 5y ago>Is the best plan really to rely on the benevolent leadership and good intentions of low-EQ celebrities like Elon Musk and Uncle Jeff Bezos along with the government to save us from catastrophe? If we learned anything from the global pandemic (covid-19), the world would do better by building and strengthening institutions like WHO and CDC to solve global problems.
- pasquinelli 5y agoisn't this just about a volcano?
- pessimizer 5y ago
- WaitWaitWha 5y ago/s (please tell me you just forgot, but it sort of fits your alias ;) )
- juanani 5y ago
- jofer 5y agoFor whatever it's worth, while there are plenty of reasons to be concerned about sustainability and resource consumption, this particular type of natural disaster has absolutely zero to do with humanity. This is very much something we understand quite well. You're seeing volcanic activity on a volcanic island on a plate boundary. Basically, this is the geological "normal" for this area that's been going on much longer than human civilization. It's fair to be worried about increased human population in areas that are affected by this, but it's not in any way something caused by civilization's toll on the environment or even something we "don't understand" in some way. There's _tons_ that we don't understand in detail, but the broad brush strokes of volcanoes at a mid ocean ridge is something we understand relatively well. Note that the evacuation is beginning _before_ the eruption due to both local seismic monitoring of the sub-surface and space-borne monitoring of deformation at the surface.
- metadat 5y agoThank you, amazing to read these comforting responses especially from an actual geologist!
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- asiachick 5y agowow, that page is impossible to read. Every few seconds it kept popping back to the top of the page. After 5 times trying to continue reading where I left off I gave up maybe these ones https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/with-tears-uncertainty-locals-leave-earthquake-hit-azores-island-2022-03-26/ https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/with-tears-uncertainty-... https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/azores-volcanic-island-hit-by-thousands-quakes-starts-evacuation-fears-grow-2022-03-24/ https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/azores-volcanic...
- fwsgonzo 5y agoIf you disable JavaScript on the page it reads fine. I have it disabled by default.
- yosito 5y agoI don't understand how normies with JavaScript enabled manage to do anything on the internet these days. Seems content publishers have thrown usability out the window in favor of spammy tracking and manipulative marketing.
- powera 5y agoAgreed. Hopefully the mods will replace the link.
- world2vec 5y agoThis link has more information than Reuters (and it's not paywalled like the links you've shared, at least from me). I didn't notice the pop-ups due to the adblock I use, my apologies for that.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- virgulino 5y agoAn eruption of ads. The Reader view (F9) in Firefox fixed it.
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- santialbo 5y agoI hope it's not like what happened in La Palma in the Canary islands last year. But it brings to the attention that maybe building your life on a volcanic area is not the best move over the long term. Chances that something happens in a 100 year lifespan are not negligible.
- mhoad 5y agoI was just in Azores a few months ago and was seriously considering the move there. Truly one of the most naturally beautiful places I’ve even heard the chance to see. I hope that everyone is able to stay safe and get through this alright.
- dzhiurgis 5y agoI'm considering move from NZ to Azores too. Seems weather is quite nice, albeit might be too humid in mid summer and a bit cloudy.
- stjohnswarts 5y agoCan I have your spot in NZ? :)
- dzhiurgis 5y agoSure, property is at least a million bucks and $10 per cucumber
- b20000 5y agowhat was your main reason to move?
- mrPurplePinkie 5y agoFrom my point of view, In Terceira there was only one traffic light (this was ca 2003)
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- supernova87a 5y agoI had the recollection that at least in terms of earthquake risk, the mid-Atlantic region is not nearly as bad for severe earthquakes as the Pacific, since the mid-Atlantic is an expanding / divergent fault. I.e. material gets pushed up gradually and the plates are politely moving away from one another. This is supposed to be less catastrophic compared to subduction where big stresses build up and get released suddenly when things break. Is that generally right? But of course, that is just the earthquake part, doesn't speak to the volcano or tsunami risk of big mountains erupting or falling into the ocean. I guess this current story is about the possibility of lava/ash, like what happened to the suburbs downslope of Kilauea or Soufriere Hills in the last couple years. Edit, actually watching one of the videos linked by other commenters, it looks remarkably like Molokai and people living (gulp) at the bottom of steep drop-off/valleys.
- ByteJockey 5y agoI thought transform boundaries were the big earthquake risk (not that there is none at convergent boundaries). At least that's what I remember from my 8th grade earth science class. I could be really wrong.
- pid-1 5y agoIf I'm not mistaken there was an earthquake in 17xx that almost erased Lisbon. Still, it really appears that sismic activity in the Pacific is much more frequent.
- zeruch 5y agoIt did destroy a significant portion of the city, and the rebuilding was a centerpoint of the Marquis de Pombal, whose expanding rule/influence was largely won based on his skill at using the rebuild to enact all manner of political change in a short period of time.
- Ftuuky 5y ago1755 earthquake (and tsunami) nearly destroyed the whole city and was probably one of the most deadliest in history. It was also one of the first quakes to be studied scientifically [0] Sooner or later it will hit Lisbon again, scientists say. As a Portuguese I'm very afraid the city is not prepared for something with an estimated magnitude of 7.7–9.0... [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1755_Lisbon_earthquake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1755_Lisbon_earthquake
- pfdietz 5y agoGeologyHub has a short video on the situation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTxhIEYICWw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTxhIEYICWw Note the risk from landslides onto coastal flat areas.
- philipov 5y agoThanks for a new youtube channel to follow.
- pfdietz 5y agoI also recommend Mentour Pilot (not geology related, but interesting.) This episode (about Olympic 411) is a nailbiter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT6r9_wmT20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT6r9_wmT20
- AtlasBarfed 5y agoIs this massive scale landslide danger an Atlantic bicoastal tsunami danger like the Canary Islands? edit link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbre_Vieja_tsunami_hazard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbre_Vieja_tsunami_hazard
- pfdietz 5y agoNo, it's due to people living on the debris fans below steep cliffs on the island, which were formed by previous large landslides.
- philipov 5y agoThe article compares it to them, but also mentions that the exact extent of a tsunami danger from landslides in the canaries is debated. There are arguments that the travel distance to landfall, continental shelves, and tendency towards multi-stage landslides mitigates the danger from landslides in the Canary Islands.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- Morthor 5y agoI am from, and currently live in the Azores. Friends from São Jorge Island have told me that they are not overly concerned at the moment and have evacuated only to another part of the island. Many people have gone to other islands. Before you think it's silly that people seem unpreocupied, please remember that vulcanoes and earthquakes are, and have been, a part of our lives since our ancestors populated the Azores.
- asah 5y agoNice! Being from a boring place, I'm jealous. :-) How can you tell when it's a "big one" vs a normal one?
- zeruch 5y agoI have family in So Miguel and Santa Maria...the attitude is much the same.
- HeyLaughingBoy 5y agoThat, and it's so fricking gorgeous that if I lived there, you'd have to drag me away!
- chefandy 5y agoI haven't had any close relatives actually from Sao Miguel for two generations, but I did almost move to Fall River, MA a couple of years ago, so that sort of counts.
- rurban 5y agoI won't cancel my holiday bookings there. it's extremely beautiful, and São Jorge is far away. even if some volcano will erupt eventually.