The 1641 catastrophe was already vivid in the minds of most, perpetuated by the Romantic prose of Francisco de Segura, and the townsfolk were already helped by innovative decrees issued by King Philip II after the events of the earlier tragedy.

Around 3:25 on the morning of 15 June, a violent earthquake caused the destruction of Praia and in Fontinhas, with general damage in eastern and northeast of Terceira, around Vila de São Sebastião and Agualva.

Félix José da Costa Júnior, then secretary to the civil governor and the man responsible for providing assist to the victims of the disaster, eventually wrote Memória Histórica do Horrível Terramoto de 1841, wherein he described the circumstances and affects on the parishes of the Ramo Grande region from the earthquake: By 1836, the archipelago of the Azores was divided into three districts, due to this politico-administrative reorganization resulting from the Liberal Reforms there were new bodies that emerged to assist in causes of emergency, and specifically, natural disasters common in the Azores.

[2] When the town of Praia and surrounding parishes were ruined by the earthquake, management of the disaster and reconstruction was already secured by the Administrator-General of the district of Angra do Heroísmo, José Silvestre Ribeiro, and by administrative officials of the Civil Governor.

The parameters for the reconstruction were defined by change and innovation: The Commission then ordered that the construction of houses of straw should desist, a characteristic that was common at the time and that produced a poor, melancholy skyline.