Timeline of Natural Disasters in The Azores - 16th Century

16th Century

• 1522: Innundation of Vila Franca do Campo, São Miguel, by mud. On the night of 21 and 22 October 1522, a violent earthquake brought down a great mudslide from the hills around Vila Franca do Campo, causing damage to the majority of the town, the old island capital. Large mudslides also occurred in Maia, an area near Ponta Garça. The phenomena at Vila Franca inspired many writings, including one that has oral roots, entitled "Novel of Vila Franca" (Romance de Vila Franca), by Teófilo Braga.
• 1523-1530: An epidemic plague ravaged the island of São Miguel, and the island became isolated for a few years. The plague also reached Faial Island.
• 1538: A volcanic eruption centered on the cay of Ferraria, São Miguel. In that year, an underwater eruption in the proximity of Ponta da Ferraria lasted for nearly a month. The eruption resulted in the appearance of a small island of "one league in circumference" that shortly disappeared. The eruption caused no damage on land.
• 1547: An earthquake rocked the northeastern part of Terceira Island. It happened on 17 May and damaged Raminho, (Folhadais), Altares, and Biscoitos.
• 1562-1564: A volcanic eruption on Prainha do Norte, Pico Island. On 21 September 1562, tremors that lasted for a "third of an hour" shook the land, and they were followed by a bang. An interesting contemporaneous description of the eruption still exists; people in the town of Velas on São Jorge Island observed it.
• 1563: Volcanic eruption at Lagoa do Fogo, São Miguel. The eruption began on 29 June, and five violent earthquakes shook the area. There was enormous destruction on the island. The violent eruption ended on 3 July. The activity was a Plinian eruption.
• 1563: A volcanic eruption on São Miguel, almost simultaneous with the eruption on Lagoa do Fogo, caused a strombolian eruption in Pico do Sapateiro parish of Ribeira Seca. The peak was a dome located near the graben of Ribeira Grande where a lagoon used to exist. The volcano spewed large amounts of very fluid basaltic lava. An historian wrote in full detail about the eruption; it is included in the account called Fénix Angrense ("The Phoenix of Angra").
• 1564: Another volcanic eruption on Lagoa do Fogo, São Miguel. The eruption began on 13 February and lasted for a few days, causing no damage.
• 1571: A seismic crisis caused great damage in Angra do Heroísmo during the month of June. The earthquake was centered southeast of Terceira Island, probably at Dom João de Castro Bank. It shook Terceira, and it was felt in São Miguel as well. Someone noted that a ship was sailing in the area at the time of the onset of the earthquakes.
• 1580: An eruption of the volcano of Queimada, São Jorge. On the night of 28 April, the land trembled thirty times and fifty times more the next day. On 1 May, there were tremors and an explosion on the top of the volcano. Another explosion happened in front of the upper part of Ribeira do Nabo, two kilometres east of the volcano. The lava flows began near Ribeira do Almeida. The eruption lasted four months, with large lava flows and volcanic ashes spread as far as Terceira.
• 1588: Large floods in São Bento and Porto de Pipas, Terceira on 26 February. The waters flowed through the valley approaching Porto de Pipas, where they caused destruction to ships and boats.
• 1588: Large floods in Velas, São Jorge. On 8 November, the flooding began near Velas with a torrent that "took many people into the sea and flooded many homes". This event was the origin of a popular poem.
• 1591: An earthquake was felt in São Miguel and on Terceira. As a consequence, the earthquake ruined many buildings, especially in Vila Franca do Campo and Água de Pau. The population lost their best homes. The king spent 150,000 reals for reconstruction. On Terceira, the land shook four times and seemed to want to "subvert itself"
• 1593: The worst agricultural year in memory caused a famine in the islands of Terceira and São Jorge, which was associated with the war of 1580-1593.
• 1599-1600: Bubonic plague caused seven thousand deaths on Terceira. The year 1599 was known as the "bad year" because of the epidemic crisis. It affected much of the population, and, for two years, it was the worst disaster in Terceira's history. Plague revisited, off and on, for nearly two decades.