Azores Safety and Security Report Wednesday 29th April 2026
From our Corresspondent in the Azores
Seismic activity
CIVISA reports that seismicity in 2025 was strongly influenced by the Santa Bárbara volcano situation. More than 20,000 earthquakes were recorded across the archipelago, and Terceira was identified as the epicenter of seismic activity, with 148 events felt by the population. In 2026 to date, activity remains broadly consistent with recent-year levels.
Fuel and energy security
The Region has fuel reserves installed locally that are sufficient for approximately one month. These stocks are integrated into the national reserve, which provides roughly three months of coverage nationwide. If required, the Azores can request access to the mainland-held national reserve, subject to authorization by the National Entity for the Energy Sector (ENSE), which manages the system.
Regional Secretary Berta Cabral warned that any interruption in fuel supply could directly jeopardize electricity supply and quickly affect:
- Households and essential public services
- Business activity, including industry and commerce
- Tourism and agriculture
The Azores’ geography increases exposure to supply disruption: unlike the Portuguese mainland, people and goods cannot move by road or rail. Passenger travel depends on air links, and goods depend on maritime transport.
Given the risk of a temporary global fuel-supply disruption if the conflict involving Iran escalates, Berta Cabral has asked the Government of the Republic to ensure the autonomous regions receive priority access to the national reserve, so the archipelagos do not lose essential social and economic connectivity to the mainland.
To support this request, the Regional Secretary for Tourism, Mobility and Infrastructure sent a letter this week to the Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, citing “high instability in energy markets, strong geopolitical tensions and increasing limitations in the availability and price of fuels”.
Quoted by the Regional Government Portal, Berta Cabral called on the Government of the Republic to consider “clearly and consistently” the specificities of the autonomous regions—particularly the Azores—“whose archipelagic and outermost condition significantly accentuates the vulnerability to disruptions in energy supply”.
She also noted that the Azores depend exclusively on maritime transport for fuel supplies and are therefore especially exposed to interruptions in international logistics chains. She described this as a “structural” reality that requires differentiated solutions, specific planning, and reinforced safeguards within national mechanisms for preventing and responding to energy crises.
Berta Cabral added that the Region’s mobility and essential services depend decisively on air transport (passengers and critical goods). In a fuel-disruption scenario, she warned the impacts would be immediate and severe, including:
- Disruption to maritime and air transport
- Constraints on electricity production and regional logistics
- Reduced inter-island and mainland connectivity
- Risks to access to specialized healthcare, energy security, and normal economic functioning
She concluded that safeguarding fuel supply in the Autonomous Region of the Azores is not only an operational issue, but also essential to territorial cohesion, national energy security, and the protection of Azorean citizens’ fundamental rights.