Two Earthquakes Shake Atlantic Ocean

The USGS small globe showing the 5.9 Earthquake off the Azores Islands, Portugal on April 30, 2013.

5.9 earthquake off the Azores Islands, Portugal on April 30, 2013 – USGS

Tuesday morning on April 30, 2013, two earthquakes just 30 minutes apart shook the Atlantic. The quakes were on opposite sides of the ocean, and surprisingly, neither rumbler created tsunami waves. The Azores Island 5.9 magnitude quake occurred 18 miles off the coast of Portugal 6.2 miles under the sea. (I consider this a 6.0 quake, but similar to gasoline prices advertised at $3.99 a gallon as opposed to $4.00 a gallon, many public posts try to make people think that “things” are not as bad as they could be.)

The USGS small globe showing the Caribbean earthquake April 30, 2013.

5.3 earthquake in the Caribbean Sea on April 30, 2013 – USGS

Thirty-one minutes later and 31 miles offshore Saint John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, a 5.3 quake rocked the Caribbean Sea 31 miles below the water.

Keep An Eye On Iceland

It would be unusual if the weaker parts of the Atlantic Ocean around Iceland and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge did not respond to these two Atlantic quakes occurring just 31 minutes apart on opposite sides of this vast ocean. Over the next week, keep an eye on the volcanoes around Iceland and on the volcanic Canary Islands, south of the Azores. And, monitor the Caribbean for more earthquake swarms.

As if upcoming hurricane season in the Atlantic isn’t enough to keep islanders on their toes, now they are experiencing large rumblers….