Sharjah24 – Reuters: Volcano experts warned on Tuesday that the earthquake-hit island of Sao Jorge in Portugal's Azores archipelago could experience an initial eruption similar to Spain's La Palma last year, which destroyed thousands of properties and crops over 85 days.

The lush mid-Atlantic island has been rattled by more than 20,000 small earthquakes in the past 11 days, with the strongest tremor since the beginning of the "seismic crisis" recorded on Tuesday evening with a magnitude of 3.8, said the region's CIVISA seismo-volcanic surveillance centre.

Portugal's meteorology agency IPMA said the earthquake reached a magnitude of 4.

There are fears the tremors, which have caused no damage so far, could herald a volcanic eruption for the first time since 1808, or a powerful earthquake. Read full story

Tuesday's quake was felt in Sao Jorge as well as on the nearby islands of Terceira, Pico and Faial, which are also volcanic.

Elderly people and those with reduced mobility have been evacuated from Velas, the municipality where most of the seismic activity has been recorded, and many locals have left the island in fear.