Moderate mag. 5.4 earthquake - North Atlantic Ocean, 63 km west of Ribeira Grande, Castelo Branco, Açores, Portugal, on Monday, 11 Jan 2021 11:47 am (GMT -1) -

Moderate mag. 5.4 earthquake - North Atlantic Ocean, 63 km west of Ribeira Grande, Castelo Branco, Açores, Portugal, on Monday, 11 Jan 2021 11:47 am (GMT -1)

Moderate magnitude 5.4 earthquake at 10 km depth

11 Jan 12:56 UTC: First to report: GFZ after 9 minutes.
11 Jan 13:11: Magnitude recalculated from 5.0 to 5.4.
11 Jan 14:09: Epicenter location corrected by 8.2 km (5.1 mi) towards NW.
Update Mon, 11 Jan 2021, 13:00
Significant magnitude 5.0 quake hits 55 km northwest of Ribeira Grande, Portugal in the morning
5.0 quake 11 Jan 11:47 am (GMT -1)
5.0 quake 11 Jan 11:47 am (GMT -1)
An earthquake of magnitude 5.0 occurred in the morning on Monday 11 January 2021 at 11:47 am local time near Ribeira Grande, North Atlantic Ocean, Açores, Portugal, as reported by the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ).
According to preliminary data, the quake was located at a shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Ribeira Grande (pop. 5,200) located 55 km from the epicenter, Horta (pop. 6,600) 61 km away, and Madalena (pop. 6,100) 69 km away.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.
If you were or still are in this area during the quake help others with your feedback and file a quick report here.
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Earthquake data:

I felt this quake
I didn't feel it
Date & time: 11 Jan 2021 12:47:01 UTC -
Local time at epicenter: Monday, 11 Jan 2021 11:47 am (GMT -1)
Magnitude: 5.4
Depth: 10.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 38.71°N / 29.38°W (North Atlantic Ocean, Portugal)
Nearest volcano: Fayal (43 km / 27 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
63 km (39 mi) WNW of Ribeira Grande (Castelo Branco) (pop: 5,200) --> See nearby quakes!
77 km (48 mi) WNW of Madalena (pop: 6,140) --> See nearby quakes!
126 km (78 mi) WSW of Santa Cruz da Graciosa (pop: 1,780) --> See nearby quakes!
177 km (110 mi) W of Santa Barbara (pop: 1,270) --> See nearby quakes!
185 km (115 mi) W of Biscoitos (pop: 1,430) --> See nearby quakes!
188 km (117 mi) W of Angra do Heroismo (Angra do Heroísmo Municipality) (pop: 12,000) --> See nearby quakes!
201 km (125 mi) W of Praia da Vitoria (Praia da Vitória) (pop: 6,060) --> See nearby quakes!
342 km (212 mi) WNW of Ponta Delgada (pop: 20,100) --> See nearby quakes!
350 km (217 mi) WNW of Lagoa (pop: 14,400) --> See nearby quakes!
1754 km (1090 mi) W of Lisbon (pop: 517,800) --> See nearby quakes!
61 km (38 mi) WNW of Faial Island (pop: 14,900) --> See nearby quakes!
355 km (221 mi) WNW of São Miguel Island (pop: 137,800) --> See nearby quakes!
Weather at epicenter at time of quake:
Broken Clouds 17°C (63 F), humidity: 94%, wind: 5 m/s (9 kts) from SSE
Primary data source: GFZ (German Research Centre for Geosciences)
Estimated released energy: 7.9 x 1012 joules (2.21 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 1898 tons of TNT or 0.1 atomic bombs!) More info
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If you felt this quake (or if you were near the epicenter), please share your experience and submit a short "I felt it" report! Other users would love to hear about it!
Also if you did NOT feel the quake although you were in the area, please report it! Your contribution is valuable also to earthquake science and earthquake hazard analysis and mitigation efforts. You can use your device location or the map to indicate where you were during the earthquake. Thank you!

Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies

Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.
MagnitudeDepthLocationSource
M 5.410 kmAzores Islands, PortugalGFZ
M 5.410 kmAZORES ISLANDS, PORTUGALEMSC
M 5.410 km67 Km NW of Castelo Branco, PortugalUSGS
M 5.4 kmNW Faial, PortugalIVAR (AZO)
M 5.410 kmAzores Islands, PortugalGeoAu

User reports for this quake (13)

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
Contribute:
Leave a comment if you find a particular report interesting or want to add to it.
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Mark as helpful or interesting.
Send your own user report!
Praia do norte (55.8 km ESE of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 2-5 s : lasted 2 to 5 se s | 2 users found this interesting.
Praia do norte (55.7 km ESE of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 2-5 s : lasted 2 to 5 secs | 2 users found this interesting.
187.8 km E of epicenter [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : Cabinet door swaying and chair my husband was sitting in carried vibrations. | One user found this interesting.
Grenier e Savoie LDA / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s : We felt like a big truck passing by. couple of seconds! | One user found this interesting.
Praia do Almoxarife, Faial (69 km ESE of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s
58.3 km E of epicenter [Map] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) (reported through our app)
65.5 km ESE of epicenter [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s
Praia do Almoxarife, Faial (69 km ESE of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s
Pico - Sao Joao / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vertical swinging (up and down)
Capelo, Caminho do Farol / Light shaking (MMI IV)
Horta / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s
Horta / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / 1-2 s
Angra do heroísmo, Conceição / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s
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Aftershocks of the 5.4 quake North Atlantic Ocean, 63 km west of Ribeira Grande, Castelo Branco, Açores, Portugal, 11 Jan 2021 11:47 am (GMT -1)

More info
Recorded aftershocks, latest first (60 quakes so far, frequently updated):
  • 16 Jan 2021 07:52 UTC
    | M 2.7 |
    0 km (0 mi) depth
    |
    19 km (12 mi) distance
    | IVAR (AZO) | Details
  • 15 Jan 2021 17:51 UTC
    | M 2.7 |
    0 km (0 mi) depth
    |
    7 km (4 mi) distance
    | IVAR (AZO) | Details
  • 15 Jan 2021 06:21 UTC
    | M 2.8 |
    0 km (0 mi) depth
    |
    12 km (7 mi) distance
    | IVAR (AZO) | Details
  • 14 Jan 2021 19:13 UTC
    | M 2.5 |
    0 km (0 mi) depth
    |
    17 km (11 mi) distance
    | IVAR (AZO) | Details
  • 14 Jan 2021 02:50 UTC
    | M 2.9 |
    0 km (0 mi) depth
    |
    15 km (9 mi) distance
    | IVAR (AZO) | Details
  • 14 Jan 2021 01:20 UTC
    | M 2.9 |
    0 km (0 mi) depth
    |
    16 km (10 mi) distance
    | IVAR (AZO) | Details
  • 13 Jan 2021 23:07 UTC
    | M 2.6 |
    0 km (0 mi) depth
    |
    5 km (3 mi) distance
    | IVAR (AZO) | Details
  • 13 Jan 2021 18:47 UTC
    | M 3.9 |
    1 km (0.6 mi) depth
    |
    9 km (6 mi) distance
    | EMSC | Details
  • 13 Jan 2021 18:43 UTC
    | M 2.8 |
    0 km (0 mi) depth
    |
    13 km (8 mi) distance
    | IVAR (AZO) | Details
  • 13 Jan 2021 18:34 UTC
    | M 3.3 |
    5 km (3.1 mi) depth
    |
    12 km (8 mi) distance
    | EMSC | Details
  • 13 Jan 2021 18:16 UTC
    | M 3.7 |
    1 km (0.6 mi) depth
    |
    8 km (5 mi) distance
    | EMSC | Details
  • 13 Jan 2021 12:03 UTC
    | M 3.0 |
    0 km (0 mi) depth
    |
    8 km (5 mi) distance
    | IVAR (AZO) | Details
  • 13 Jan 2021 06:42 UTC
    | M 2.7 |
    0 km (0 mi) depth
    |
    15 km (9 mi) distance
    | IVAR (AZO) | Details
  • 13 Jan 2021 06:33 UTC
    | M 2.8 |
    0 km (0 mi) depth
    |
    16 km (10 mi) distance
    | IVAR (AZO) | Details
  • 12 Jan 2021 16:12 UTC
    | M 3.5 |
    0 km (0 mi) depth
    |
    13 km (8 mi) distance
    | IVAR (AZO) | Details
  • 12 Jan 2021 15:30 UTC
    | M 3.1 |
    0 km (0 mi) depth
    |
    12 km (7 mi) distance
    | IVAR (AZO) | Details
    • Show all

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Earlier earthquakes in the same area since 1900

Moderate mag. 5.4 earthquake - North Atlantic Ocean, 63 km west of Ribeira Grande, Castelo Branco, Açores, Portugal, on Monday, 11 Jan 2021 11:47 am (GMT -1)

Map of earlier quakes

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