Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal, Sept. 26, 2025 (Lusa) - Post-tropical Storm Gabrielle caused damage to Graciosa's airport terminal, the Azorean Regional Government announced on Friday, acknowledging that the damage could lead to constraints on air operations to the island, which has around 4,100 inhabitants.
"We have some last-minute information about the impact on the roof of Graciosa's air terminal," said the Regional Secretary for the Environment and Climate Action at a briefing at the regional Civil Protection headquarters on Terceira island.
According to Alonso Miguel, the damage to the terminal "could cause constraints in the operation of the infrastructure and, consequently, in the aviation activity" provided by SATA Air Açores.
The official, who oversees Civil Protection in the Azores, stated that an assessment of the damage was still underway and that there was "no detailed information on this matter."
"The information we have is that there was damage to the roof of the Graciosa terminal and that at the moment the SATA teams [the company that provides the handling service at the terminal] are on site assessing it, so that they can also understand the extent and severity of these impacts and to what extent it may or may not affect air activity," he emphasised.
Alonso Miguel said that the possible constraints on air activity on the island of Graciosa would depend on the "assessment that is being made and the damage that has been caused to the terminal".
"The information we have from SATA is that they have teams on site and are assessing the extent of the damage," he emphasised.
Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle was expected to pass over the Azores as a Category 1 hurricane, but it became a post-tropical storm.
The most critical period of the storm occurred between 03:00 and 09:00 local time (one hour later in Lisbon), with the greatest incidence on the islands of Graciosa, Faial, and Terceira.
The islands of the Central (Pico, Faial, Graciosa, Terceira and São Jorge) and Western (Flores and Corvo) groups were under a red warning (the most serious on a scale of three), due to precipitation, wind and sea turbulence, with red warnings for wind and sea turbulence still in force in the Central group until 12 noon today.
The Regional Government declared an alert situation between 6 p.m. on Thursday and the same time today in the Central and Western groups, prohibiting certain activities.
Non-urgent and essential public services, including schools, were also closed on these islands.
PC/ADB // ADB.
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