5.3 Earthquake - North Atlantic Ocean, 140 km northeast of Lajes das Flores, Azores, Portugal

"A strong magnitude 5.3 earthquake occurred in the North Atlantic Ocean 132 km (82 mi)

from Azores, Portugal, at 13:13 GMT. The quake had a very shallow depth of 6.7 km (4.2 mi) and was not felt (or at least not reported so)." VD

Pico volcano system raised to V1 alert after increased seismicity in Faial–Pico channel, Portugal

"Authorities raised the volcanic alert level to V1 in the Faial–Pico channel, Azores, Portugal,  following low-magnitude seismic activity. The earthquakes occurred along a NE–SW trend

west of Madalena to north of Lagido, spanning depths from 20 km (12 miles) to near the surface. The activity is located within the offshore volcanic system associated with Pico volcano, whose last confirmed eruption occurred in 1720 (VEI 2). Low-magnitude seismic activity has been recorded in the Faial–Pico channel, Azores, Portugal, within a NE–SW oriented structural zone extending from west of Madalena to north of Lagido. The activity encompasses the Cachorro Submarine Volcanic System and includes earthquakes distributed from approximately 20 km (12 miles) depth to near-surface levels." W

5.1 Earthquake - North Atlantic Ocean, 137 km northeast of Lajes das Flores, Azores, Portugal

"A strong magnitude 5.1 earthquake occurred in the North Atlantic Ocean 129 km (80 mi) from Azores, Portugal, in the evening of Monday, Feb 9, 2026 at 9.31 pm local time (GMT -1). The depth of the quake could not be determined, but is assumed to be shallow.

The quake was not felt (or at least not reported so)." VD

Storm Leonardo floods southern Spain and Portugal

"Flooding caused by Storm Leonardo left one person dead in Portugal and a child missing in
southern Spain as heavy rain flooded towns across the Iberian Peninsula. Emergency services carried out evacuations and search operations as river levels rose rapidly." W

Storm Kristin batters Portugal with hurricane-force winds

"The worst of Storm Kristin may have swept eastward, yet its trail of chaos is still

unmistakable from Leiria’s battered rooftops to the water-logged roads outside Lisbon. Five people lost their lives during the tempests that rattled mainland Portugal, and emergency crews logged well over 8 000 callouts—an unprecedented workload that forced firefighters to stretch shifts and local councils to declare all-hands emergencies." PortugalPost

Ukraine and Portugal sign deal on maritime drones

"Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine has signed an agreement with Portugal on a partnership to

produce maritime drones.
“Today there is a very important joint statement by Ukraine and Portugal, which we have just signed, on establishing a partnership for the production of maritime drones. This is one of the most promising areas of defense work right now. What matters is that there are results. Every part of our Europe must have sufficient strength to counter any threats, and modern drones are a real tool of protection,” Zelensky said at a joint news conference with Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro in Kyiv." NV

A new mega-earthquake hotspot could be forming beneath the Atlantic Mysterious earthquakes in the region have long gone unexplained

"A new tectonic fault could be emerging beneath the Atlantic Ocean, raising the risk of powerful earthquakes and tsunamis that could ripple across the basin.....Scientists have puzzled over why Portugal has suffered huge earthquakes despite lying far from the world’s major fault lines. Duarte’s team pieced together seismic records and computer models of the Horseshoe Abyssal Plain, a stretch of deep seafloor southwest of Portugal. They found evidence that the mantle – the hot, dense layer beneath Earth’s crust – is peeling away in a process called delamination. The findings suggest we may be witnessing the birth of a new subduction zone in the Atlantic – one that could eventually pull Africa, Europe and the Americas back together into a future supercontinent." SciNews

Fire tornado swirls up through smoke cloud from Portugal wildfire

"A fire tornado was caught on camera in Portugal as the country battled a series of wildfires amid another heatwave." AP

Spain declares state of emergency after nationwide blackout

"Spain

declared a state of emergency on Monday after a massive power outage plunged the
entire Iberian Peninsula into darkness. Authorities are still investigating the cause.
The blackout, which struck Spain and Portugal around midday and briefly affected parts of France, left millions without electricity, paralyzed public transport, and delayed flights." RT

Knife-wielding attacker kills one, injures five officers in France

"The attacker, an Algerian male, was on a terror prevention watchlist and under judicial

supervision, according to the anti-terrorism prosecution office... The attack occurred in the city of Mulhouse in eastern France near the German border and left two of the officers seriously wounded.
A 69-year-old man who intervened to help the officers died from stab wounds, authorities said. The attacker shouted “Allahu Akbar.”.....he was a 69-year-old Portuguese national.
Macron said the knife attack was “without any doubt an act of Islamist terrorism.” 

JustNews

NATO’s largest naval exercise commences in Romania with 12 allies

"Sea Shield 24, NATO’s largest multinational naval exercise, commenced in Romania, involving over 2,200 military personnel and 135 ships, aircraft, and vehicles from 12 Allies. Troops and military equipment from Bulgaria, France, Georgia, Greece, Italy, the United Kingdom, Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Turkey, the United States and Romania are taking part in the exercises." UP

Denmark and Netherlands to lead European coalition in providing F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots

"Denmark and the Netherlands, in cooperation with the United States, will start developing a
framework for comprehensive training of Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation aircraft, in addition, Norway, Belgium, Portugal and Poland have offered to contribute to the training....including the F-16." Ukrin

EU sounds alarm over dangerous infection

"EU nations are experiencing the largest detected epidemic of avian influenza (HPAI), a more dangerous variant of bird flu.........scientists reported “an unprecedentedly high level of HPAI virus detections in wild birds between June and August 2022.” Breeding colonies of seabirds along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean were hit particularly hard, with high mortality rates observed.....The virus reached as far north as the Svalbard islands, as far east as Ukraine and as far south as southern Portugal, according to researchers.....The health agency assessed the risk posed by the virus to the European public as low for the general population and low to medium for people regularly exposed to birds, like farm workers." RT

Record heatwave threatens EU food security

"A record heatwave in some of Europe’s key farming regions has put this year’s corn harvest at risk, Bloomberg reported.

Corn crops are in the midst of flowering and adverse weather can lower the number of kernels that ultimately fill with grain. Temperatures in some areas of Europe have reached as high as 47 degrees Celsius, with Spain, France, Greece and Portugal particularly affected.

The EU normally imports large volumes of corn, which is mainly used as animal feed, from Ukraine, but this year the shipments have been constrained by the conflict. According to Bloomberg, this has driven up prices, with Paris corn futures up 11% in July and trading at a record for the time of year. Sunflower and soybean fields are also at risk from the hot, dry conditions, the publication adds.

Europe’s wheat harvest has also been affected by the unusually hot weather. Last week France, the EU’s top wheat exporter, said its soft-wheat output will drop by about 7% this year, to below the five-year average.

This comes amid reduced supplies of wheat and other grains from major producers Russia and Ukraine, amid the ongoing conflict between the countries. Other leading exporters, such as India and Kazakhstan, have restricted or banned their grain exports, citing domestic food security. The developments have triggered warnings of a possible global food crisis." RT

US confirms first case of rare disease

"A Massachusetts man has been diagnosed with monkeypox after traveling to Canada, the US Centers for Disease Control and Massachusetts Department of Public Health confirmed on Wednesday.

The case is the first to surface in the US this year and comes on the heels of an alert by the Spanish authorities of a potential outbreak of the virus among 23 people in Madrid. While typically spread by respiratory transmission, a spokesperson for Madrid’s regional health department said the local outbreak was driven by “fluid contact,” noting that eight of the suspected cases were found in gay men.

Around 20 suspected cases of monkeypox also surfaced among young Portuguese men in and around Lisbon this week, and a number of similar cases have been confirmed in the UK. Of the seven UK cases confirmed as of Monday, four of the most recent were in gay or bisexual men, and the first involved a person who had recently been to Nigeria, where the infection was likely contracted." RT

Spain, Portugal urge energy coordination as Russia supply fears rise

"Spanish and Portugese officials called on Thursday for Europe to cooperate more closely on managing energy supplies after major producer Russia's invasion of Ukraine heightened fears of disruptions.

Unlike many of the countries on the continent, which in total relies on Russia for 40% of its gas, neither country on the Iberian peninsula counts Russia among its main providers.

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Thursday that the Portuguese deep-water port of Sines - the closest European port to the United States, "has the infrastructure to host and export natural gas to Europe". Reuters