M 5.3 Earthquake Strikes 132 km ENE of Santa Cruz das Flores, Portugal
Areazine synthesizes this USGS earthquake report directly from USGS's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake occurred 132 km ENE of Santa Cruz das Flores, Portugal, at a shallow depth of 6.7 km.
What this USGS earthquake report tells you, and what most readers miss
This notice was issued by USGS on August 8, 2026 and geographically references Portugal. Its severity classification of "medium" signals how the issuing agency weighs the risk of harm if no action is taken - "critical" and "high" tier alerts typically carry direct consumer actions, while "medium" and "low" tend toward informational guidance or monitoring advisories. The category it belongs to - Earthquakes - determines the monitoring protocol behind it, which shapes what follow-up action (checking for structural damage, watching for aftershocks, reviewing local building codes) is relevant and which agency holds authority over the assessment.
Most readers skim a notice like this, check whether they are personally affected, and move on. The more useful lens is to verify its scope, source, and timestamp, then compare related notices without assuming that one record proves a broader trend.
Areazine pairs this record with the original agency URL so you can check the primary source before acting. Its related labels are earthquake, seismic, usgs, Portugal.
What Happened
A M 5.3 mww earthquake struck 132 km ENE of Santa Cruz das Flores, Portugal, on July 19, 2026, at 12:33:11 UTC. The event was recorded at coordinates 39.9371°N, 29.7175°W with a depth of 6.736 km. This depth classifies as shallow (less than 20 km).
Location Details
The earthquake was located 132 km ENE of Santa Cruz das Flores, Portugal. Coordinates are latitude 39.9371, longitude -29.7175. The shallow depth means shaking may be more noticeable near the epicenter.
Impact Assessment
The USGS assigned a green alert level. No tsunami advisory was issued (tsunami flag: 0). The maximum reported intensity (MMI) was 3.218. No felt reports were recorded in the data.
What You Should Know
This was a moderate earthquake. Minor shaking may have been felt locally, but no damage or injuries are reported in the source data. Aftershocks are possible following any earthquake.
Source
Data from USGS: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us7000t26b
Original source: USGS Official Notice ↗
Related Earthquakes
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Two Areazine-derived peer sets for this USGS earthquake report: nearest notices by body length and by same severity near the same agency date. Peers come from other categories so they are not the same-feed Related list above.
Similar body length
Nearest notices by article body length (988 characters here).
Similar severity timing
Same severity (medium) notices issued closest in time to August 8, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this USGS earthquake report.