The following is a list of notable natural disasters that have affected the Azores:
15th century Around 1432: First recorded famine in the Azores. 1439–1444 (undocumented): Volcanic eruption on São Miguel at Sete Cidades; details of the eruption were not recorded, not even the exact date of the event. Father Gaspar Frutuoso, who referenced the event in Saudades da Terra, noted that the inhabitants discovered that the topography of the eastern part of the island had changed radically, and that tree trunks and pumice were found floating in the ocean. Colonists from the settlement in what is now Povoação (in the eastern half of the island) heard sounds of explosions and felt many earthquakes leading to this event: "living, these discoverers, in their straw huts, they heard in the space of a year such great grinding, rattling and explosion of the earth with great tremors proceeding the subversion and fire of the peak..." 1460?: Another volcanic eruption at Sete Cidades, São Miguel. No specific information was recorded at the time.
16th century 1522: Considered the seminal disaster of the Azores, the 1522 Vila Franca earthquake and landslides occurred on 21–22 October 1522, that inundated and destroyed much of the provincial capital of Vila Franca do Campo, on the island of São Miguel.Carlos Melo Bento (2008), p.33 On the night of 21 and 22 October 1522, another violent earthquake brought down a great mudslide from the hills around Vila Franca do Campo, causing damage to the majority of the town and causing the burial alive of 5000 residents and nobles, with the Donatary-Captain Rui Gonçalves da Câmara escaping the event, owing to his stay in his summer cottage in Lagoa. Later writing, the Bishop of Angra described how the mountains of Rabaçal and Louriçal had fallen and buried 4-5 thousand people.Carlos Melo Bento (2008), p.64 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, and had the effect of inspiring renewed devotion to the religious celebrations of the Holy Spirit. 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 lasting for a "third of an hour" shook the land, and 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 was felt in São Miguel too. 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.
17th century 1606 — Flooding in Velas, São Jorge, in February caused much damage to the town of Velas, many roads were "the way that no one could walk a foot". 1608 — Large flooding in Angra, Terceira - On 11 February at about 9 at night, and created a huge intense mudslide in Angra, situated during the area all night. At dawn, the mudslide intensified causing excavation of a cave named Santa Luzia. The waters flooded Rua Miragaia as well as Rus do Marquês and Rua do Palácio and also flooded Rua Direita. The flood knocked down walls at the town's harbour (the famous "Porta do Mar") and damaged or destroyed various homes and other buildings. 1613 — Year of the sterility of the grass. It killed two cows. That year was a combination of drought and gale-force winds in the winter and spring leaving in one dramatic situation. It killed many animals. It would have been the year of La Niña? 1614 — The first "Caída da Praia" ("Falling of Praia"): earthquakes on 9 April in Fontinhas and 24 May in Praia, Terceira. On 9 April, an earthquake destroyed almost all of the parish of Fontinhas and severely damaged other parishes. On 24 May, an earthquake with a huge magnitude ruined almost all of the parishes of Agualva, Vila Nova, Lajes and Santa Cruz de Praia caused injuries. Francisco Ferreira Drummond described in the Annals of Terceira "Fallen" in the reconstruction with a great detail. 1630 — A Plinian-type Eruption of Furnas, São Miguel and occurred on 3 September. It was known as the "Year of the Ashtray", 191 people were killed in the eruption. The eruption was accompanied with a volcanic explosions in sea and the stone located near Lagoa do Fogo and around Ribeira Quente. It also created large mudslides in lands of the south coast of the island of São Miguel. 1630 — Mudslide in Castelo, São Miguel, in 1630 a gigantic mudslide happened where today lies the westernmost point of the "cape" located near Ribeira Quente, São Miguel. The mudslide tore a part of Castelo in the area now known as Ponta da Albufeira. The mudslide was associated with an eruption on Furnas in the same year. 1637 — A hurricane reached Terceira. On 2 August a major storm pounded the island and caused much damage. 1638 — An underwater eruption occurred near Candelária, São Miguel island. The Surtseyan-type eruption began on 3 July, about 2 km off the Ponta da Candelária. For 29 days it produced a ring-shaped island. During the eruption, sulfur in the sea in a radius of about eight leagues in distance killed many fish which created "To load eight vessels to India". 1641 — On 21 December a tsunami (probably the result of a marine earthquake) caused great destruction in the town of Velas, São Jorge. 1647 — Seismic crisis in Terceira and caused the worst agricultural year in all of the islands. It lasted from the end of December up until the beginning of July causing violent tremors causing panic in Angra. 1649 — A storm wrecked four boats in Angra, earthquake in Terceira, a storm caused strong southeast winds to overturn four boats in Angra. A small earthquake shook Terceira. It was the year that celebrated good wine productions. 1652 — Eruption on Pico do Fogo, São Miguel, after one week of violent eruption, which caused great phenomena in Lagoa and parts of Ponta Delgada. An outflow of basaltic lava resulting from a Strombolian eruption on 19 October destroyed areas near Calhetas as well as parts of Portões Vermelhos. The eruption lasted for 15 days. 1656 — An earthquake and several aftershocks hit the island of São Miguel at two o'clock on the afternoon of 18 October 1656, and a strong aftershock at seven in the evening of the following day damaged houses. 1656 — Epidemic of smallpox in Terceira - The epidemic affected almost all children under the age of three and reached the population as high as the age of fifteen. 1668 — A storm reached and devastated Calheta on São Jorge - On 23 November a violent storm caused an "alteration of the sea that flooded the village destroying and knocking down houses", it also obstructed the port. 1672 — A volcanic eruption occurred on the night of 13 April in Faial which was followed by five seismic waves causing a seismic crisis in the whole island. Victims of the volcano emigrated to Maranhão, Brazil. 1678 — Lack of cereals caused disputes in the municipalities in the islands of São Jorge and Pico. A worst agricultural year which made cereals scarce for the islands of São Jorge and Pico and made it necessary to prohibit cereal exports 1682 — Underwater eruption occurred in front of Ferraria, São Miguel, the eruption was four leagues from Ponta da Ferraria. 1690 — A huge storm along with an earthquake caused panic on the island of Terceira. 1698 — Seismic crisis in Terceira in October created panic in the population.
18th century 1713 — Floods in the town of Velas on São Jorge. On 10 December in the same year, many intense mudslides in the area between Urzelina and Rosais caused large floods which destroyed 27 houses in the town of Velas. The Ribeira da Almeida overflowed by its beach which allowed the passage by foot between the town and Queimage 1713 — Volcanic eruption and gases at Pico das Camarinhas on São Miguel Island. In various weeks continued and in late December, created fumes and gases throughout the area. The eruption created volcanic explosions. The seismic crisis destroyed many houses in Ginetes, Mosteiros and Candelária. 1717–1718 — Epidemic in Faial which lasted from November 1717 to February 1718 which caused a bubonic plague. In November, the death toll were mainly in Cedros, the same in Castelo Branco and Flamengos. 1718 — Eruption in Santa Luzia do Pico which started on 1 February and ended on 15 August, with resumed activity in September which ended at the beginning of November. The localization was in the eruptive centre. 1720 — Eruption in Soldão, Lajes do Pico on 10 July. 1720 — Eruption in Banco D. João de Castro.