The Azores island chain in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean has been hit by more than 14,000 minor earthquakes measuring as high as 3.3 on the Richter scale, leading scientists to fear an upcoming volcanic eruption or earthquake is pending, Reuters reports.
Scientists have been scouring the islands with instruments to measure for elevated levels of sulphur and carbon dioxide, a potential sign of imminent volcanic activity. An autonomous district of Portugal, the archipelago of nine volcanic islands is home to about 231,000 people.
“One of the possible scenarios on the table is that we see something similar to what happened in La Palma,” volcanologist Fatima Viveiros, a native of the Azorean island of Sao Jorge said, referring to the eruption on Spanish island that devastated a portion of the island.