Portugal's Azores archipelago braced for further volcanic activity

Sao Jorge, one of the nine major Azorean islands, has been hit by around 14,000 minor quakes over the past week, Reuters reports, peaking at magnitude 3.3 so far.

Military support has been sent to Sao Jorge and an evacuation plan drawn up to ensure islanders can get to safety; around 8,000 people are thought to live on Sao Jorge, although about 1,500 are understood to have already left the island.

The CIVICA seismic surveillance centre raised its volcanic alert to level four last week, with five being the highest possible level. The island’s main volcanic fissure last erupted in 1808, although the island has been hit by significant earthquakes since then.