There was no warning before the earthquake in Lisbon on Monday morning. Worse, the computer system of Portugal’s oceanic and atmospheric agency crashed shortly after the shaking began at 5.11am. No injuries were reported but residents, who were mostly fast asleep when it hit, have told of being terrified, jumping out of bed and “not being able to stand up”.
Patricia Brito, who lives in the centre of the city, says that, once she found her footing, she skidded into her parents thinking “this was the big one”. The shaking lasted less than a minute, but for three hours she couldn’t go to sleep as she and her friends WhatsApped each other from Setubal to Porto as they shared their stories. “One friend woke up and threw up a minute before it started, so she must have been hyper-sensitive to it coming.”
While the earthquake was moderate, with Lisbon 84km (52 miles) from its epicentre, the news dominated Portuguese and European headlines as it was felt in Gibraltar, Spain and Morocco. The panic among Lisboetas was also understandable as residents of the city are used to living in the shadow of 1755, when a massive earthquake collapsed Lisbon’s churches during mass, launched tsunami waves over the city’s walls, and caused fires that lasted six days.
Scientists estimate the magnitude of that devastating event was 7.7 compared to the 5.4 that occurred on 26 August. What would an earthquake of that size mean for Lisbon today?
Given that two-thirds of the city’s buildings were built before anti-seismic regulations of the 1980s, the damage could be untold, which is why residents of that city are often exposed to drills whether that is tsunami alarms that are tested near the waterfront of the city, or school children being given instructions of what to do in the event of a catastrophic event.
Denne historien er fra September 01, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra September 01, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
'Fight days are for fighting, not chatting to each other'
This Saturday, Joshua Buatsi will share a card with his friend Anthony Joshua for the fourth time, boxing Willy Hutchinson for an interim title at Wembley. Alex Pattle gets the lowdown
F1 title opening could prove to be Norris's only chance
Under the afternoon sun on Saturday in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, it felt like the moment the drivers’ title slipped away from Lando Norris.
The Man City hearing must answer these two questions
Amid all of the uncertainty around the Manchester City investigation, there is one view that can be stated with confidence as it finally gets under way.
Super clubs have nothing to fear from Uefa's shake-up
As a new Champions League format makes its debut today, Miguel Delaney looks at what it means for the competition
Final messages from Titan before implosion revealed
“All good here.”
New Zealand's bird of the year picked up by a penguin
A rare, smelly and yellow-eyed penguin species has been crowned New Zealand’s bird of the year for the second time in less than a decade.
Death toll rises as floods devastate central Europe
The death toll across central Europe from the worst flooding in decades has risen to at least 16 after Storm Boris brought a month’s worth of rain in just 24 hours.
Germany reimposes border controls to tackle migration
Germany has reintroduced checks on all nine of its land borders in a move that has angered a number of its neighbours – but brought praise from the far right.
Putin boosts troop numbers as missiles pummel Ukraine
President Vladimir Putin yesterday ordered the regular size of the Russian army to increase by 180,000 troops to 1.5 million soldiers, the third time he has expanded its ranks since sending the military into Ukraine in February 2022.
'I figured he must be either dead or in prison by now...'
Those who know Ryan Routh talk of his previous 'escapades'
