Year: 2017

“I give a very positive note to the effort that has been carried out by all the entities involved, demonstrating operational capacity and coordination capacity,” said the Minister of Internal Affairs, Eduardo Cabrita, stressing “the need to improve coordination mechanisms” considered as ‘a decisive element’.

These statements were made following a tactical police exercise carried out by the special operations groups of the GNR and PSP, which culminated in five arrests and the release of dozens of hostages at the Coina train station in Setúbal.

“It is vital that Portugal, which is considered one of the safest countries in the world, continues to be. And for that, we cannot fail to prepare for eventualities, benefiting from the experience of those who have already suffered them, but also sharing our experience, which is very valid and recognized in the international scene, “said the Minister.

Eduardo Cabrita also recalled that this safety exercise in the railway area, which is part of the Portuguese participation in the European Rail Safety Network (Railpol), involved the GNR under the coordination of the Secretary General of the Internal Security System, and involved “a wide cooperation of entities, security forces and services, armed forces, health facilities, the three hospitals in the Setúbal peninsula, the municipal civil protection units of Barreiro and Seixal, and firefighters.

“In all these types of operations, it is essential that Portugal is well prepared to learn from international experience, but also to share experiences and to prove that it is prepared, in the circumstances, as close to reality as possible, to train all agents security forces and civil protection so that if we are ever faced with a real situation, everyone knows what they have to do, “said the Minister.

Eduardo Cabrita emphasized the participation of the United States rail security services, who travelled to Portugal to follow this exercise.

It is called the National Federation of Portuguese Firemen and wants to bring together professional firefighters and volunteers. The new body was presented this Tuesday in Lisbon, and is based on the desire to represent all of the country’s firefighters.

The initiative is based on the National Association of Professional Firefighters (ANBP) and the Portuguese Association of Voluntary Firefighters (APBV), which aim to “clarify the representation of Portuguese firefighters”. The goal is that the new federation will “occupy the space that is legitimately of the firemen,” they defend.

Speaking to TSF, the president of APBV, Rui Moreira da Silva, believes that the representation of firefighters should not be in the hands of the Portuguese Firemen’s League.

“The sector needs, at this moment, to have a voice that represents them, that bears the state of soul that in recent times has settled in the firemen, be they professionals or volunteers,” said Rui Moreira da Silva.

The creators of this new federation consider that the Fire Brigade represents “the units holding the fire brigades and not the men and women who provide service 365 days a year.”

The Federation of Firefighters will address issues such as the careers and professionalization of firefighters or insurance, “which are a real national shame in the case of volunteer firefighters,” he added.

Hearing from TSF, the president of the Portuguese Fire Brigade League denies that the institution represents only the units holding the fire brigades, as those responsible for the newly created federation say.

“It’s a shameful lie,” said Jaime Marta Soares. “The Portuguese Firemen’s League represents associations and fire brigades. Well, the fire brigades are made up of all their elements of the active body, “said the president of the League.

Jaime Marta Soares accused the creators of the Portuguese National Firefighters Federation of wanting to “assault” the League, and “invade a space” that is already occupied.

The president of the Firemen’s League considers that the new federation is a “badly framed marriage” between the ANBP and the APBV and “that does not have representative” nor it demonstrates “any future”.

The Agriculture Minister Luís Capoulas Santos announced today Tuesday (14^th November) the creation of a public company for forest management, with funding in the State Budget for 2018 (OE2018).

In the discussion in the specialty of the OE2018 proposal, the minister recalled the recent approvals of the forest management entities and the incentives for forest management and announced that “it intends to go further”, reason why the Government “decided and will have expression in the Budget, a public company for the management of the forest “.

“We want the state to advance as an example and to have a more proactive attitude and that can demonstrate to civil society how it is possible to manage with the new instruments,” he said.

Capoulas Santos also mentioned the support for animal feed and added that on November 15 will begin the supply of 100 tons of sugar, through associations of beekeepers, to feed the bees during the winter.

The Minister also stated that EUR 5 million will be reserved for the restructuring of the vineyard for EUR 25 million for the restoration of the vineyards of the 41 municipalities affected by the fires.

Forest fires have consumed more than 442,000 hectares this year, the worst year ever in Portugal, according to the Institute of Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF).

The last report of the ICNF, which analyses the data between January 1 and October 31, indicates that 442,418 hectares of forest land have burned in Portugal, half of which in October (223,901 hectares).

The ICNF figures, however, fall short of the 563,000 hectares indicated in the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) estimates.

As for large fires – when the total area affected is equal to or greater than 100 hectares – until October 31, 214 fires of this category were registered, which were responsible for 412,781 hectares of forest areas, about 93% of the total area burned out.

The ICNF report indicates a total of 16,981 occurrences (3,653 forest fires and 13,328 hot flushes), with 264,951 hectares of stands and 177,467 hectares of burning forest.

Up to October 31, 2017 there are 1,446 re-registrations, 8% less than the annual average of the last 10 years.

According to the ICNF, the district of Coimbra was the most affected, with a quarter (113,839 hectares) of the total area burned nationally.

After Coimbra, the district of Guarda appears, with 60,038 hectares of fire (14% of the total) and Castelo Branco, with 52,721 hectares (12% of the total).

As for the number of occurrences, and in descending order, the districts of Porto (4,336), Braga (1,743) and Viseu (1,698) were the ones that register the most.

“In any case, the occurrences are mostly hot flushes, that is, small occurrences that do not exceed 1 hectare of burned area. In the specific case of the Porto district, the percentage of hot flushes is 87%,” the report said.

As for the largest fires in terms of burned area, at the top of the list appears the one that originated on October 15 in Seia / Sandomil, in Guarda district, which destroyed 43,191 hectares, followed by the same day in Lousã / Vilarinho ( Coimbra), which burned 35,806 hectares.

With regard to the National Network of Protected Areas (RNAP), it is estimated that 39,388 hectares of forest areas have been burned (5.5%). It stands out the Natural Park of Serra da Estrela by the greater extent of area burned to date (19,337 hectares, about 21.7% of the total area of ​​the park).

The protected area most affected by its extension was the Natural Monument of Portas de Ródão, with almost 72% of the total area destroyed.

As for the land under the forest regime, an estimated 73,190 hectares (about 18.4%) have been burned. According to the report, the Cambarinho Botanic Reserve was totally consumed, in the northern slope of Serra do Caramulo.

The ICNF also highlights the National Forest of Leiria by the largest surface area, with almost 9,476 hectares destroyed (86% of the total).

From the analysis of the daily severity index (DSR) accumulated until October 31, 2017 is the most severe year of the last 15, with values ​​similar to 2005, which had hitherto been the most severe.

The firefighting operation was extended until November 15, following adverse weather forecasts and maintenance of the high risk of forest fires.

The operating period of the 72 GNR watch stations was also extended until November 15, with the maintenance force of the Forestry Information Maintenance and Exploitation Teams (EMEIF) maintained by each District Relief Operations Command.

 

This year is expected to be one of the three hottest ever since there are records, ranking second, above 2015 but below 2016, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced Monday.

The year 2017 is the hottest ever without the El Niño phenomenon, which affects temperatures, sea currents and precipitation, according to WMO.

The year 2016, when there was a strong El Niño, is the hottest year at all, followed by 2017 and 2015, since there are records, said the organization at the 23rd United Nations Climate Conference, which takes place in Bonn, Germany.

“The three most recent years are the hottest ever recorded and are included in the long-term warming trend of the planet,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

The year 2017 was marked by extreme weather events of unprecedented intensity, such as hurricanes in the Caribbean and the Atlantic, temperatures of 50º in Asia and drought in southern Africa. “Several of these phenomena – scientific studies will reveal just how many – have the hallmark of global warming brought on by the concentrations of greenhouse gases released by human activity,” he said.

The Minister of Internal Administration has appointed Lieutenant General Carlos Manuel Mourato Nunes to lead the National Civil Protection Authority.

In a statement, it is stated that the “procedures for his appointment, namely the hearing of the National Commission of Civil Protection, will be held tomorrow, November 6, at 12:00 noon”

With a degree in Military Sciences and Geographical Engineering, Lieutenant General Mourato Nunes also passed the Institute of High Military Studies, where he completed the General Officer Course and the General Course of Command and General Staff.

He was Director of the Geographic Institute of the Army between 1993 and 1999 and President of the Portuguese Geographic Institute between 2002 and 2003, at which time he was promoted to Lieutenant General and assumed the functions of General Commander of the Republican National Guard until 2008.

From 2008 to 2010 he was Secretary General of the Secretariat for Cooperation among Portuguese Speaking Countries in Public Security matters. From 2010 to 2012 he was President of the Coordinating Council of Cartography and Director General of the Portuguese Geographical Institute. He is currently a Security and Defence Consultant.

The indictment follows the resignation in mid-October of the then president of the National Authority of Civil Protection, Joaquim Leitão who had served just under a year in office, having been sworn in in October 2016.

The ANSR road statistics also indicate an increase in light injuries, with 34,254 recorded since the beginning of this year and 32,468 in the same period of 2016.

Lisbon is the district with the most accidents recorded (21,887), down from the previous year (22,216), followed by Porto (19,313), Faro (9,313), Braga (8,959), Aveiro (8,480) and Setúbal (8,405).

The district of Oporto has the highest number of fatalities recorded, with 60, almost double the 35 registered in the same period, followed by Setúbal (46 this year and 32 in 2016), Lisbon (42 this year and 48 in 2016) and Santarém (40 this year and 21 in the same period of 2016).

Lisbon is also the district with the most serious injuries registered (250 this year and 260 in 2016), followed by Faro (161 this year and 1,414 in 2016), Santarém (159 this year and 114 last year) and Porto (146 this year and 144 in 2016).

The National Civil Protection Authority (ANPC) and the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) will hold the NEAMWAVE’17 exercise tomorrow, November 3, from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS AN INTERNAL CPX Exercise so no alarms will be sounded in public areas.

NEAMWAVE’17 aims to test the effectiveness and readiness of the Tsunami alert system implemented in the North-East Atlantic, Mediterranean and Related Seas region.

This is a communication exercise during which the various national and international players will exchange technical-operational notifications related to the eventuality of an earthquake responsible for the generation of a Tsunami with an impact on the Portuguese coast.

In the edition of NEAMWAVE’17 all the coastal counties included between Vila Real de Santo António and Lourinhã, that is to say, the districts of Faro, Beja, Setúbal and Lisboa districts whose riverside fronts are susceptible of being affected by a Tsunami.

Portugal participated in the different phases of the exercise through ANPC and IPMA.

The exercise involves the various levels of the structure of the national civil protection system, namely the ANPC, through the National Relief Operations Command and the district disaster relief commands of those districts, and the municipal civil protection services of the mentioned municipalities.

The IPMA is involved in the exercise as a focal point responsible for the detection and dissemination of the Tsunami alert to the ANPC, Directorate-General of the Maritime Authority (DGAM) and the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC), as well as emergency management entities from several countries in the Northeast Atlantic, such as Morocco, Spain, England, Denmark and Ireland, among others.

NEAMTWS is the designation of the warning and warning system for the North-East Atlantic, Mediterranean and Related Oceans (Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation System for the North-Eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean and Connected Seas), implemented and coordinated by the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission after the Indian Ocean Tsunami of December 26, 2004.

The NEAMTWS warning and warning system focuses its action in three main areas:

1. Tsunami risk assessment;
2. Preparation and sensitization of the population;
3. Implementation of warning and warning systems in case of emergency.

Four service providers (based in France, Greece, Italy and Turkey) are currently operating in this region of the globe, which warns NEAM Member States authorities in the event of a Tsunami event or occurrence. In an operational phase, also integrating the network of service providers in the Northeast Atlantic region.

In the operation that took place 800 kms from Portugal, the Judicial Police have detained the 17 crew. Drug was hidden in a tank

The action was in the style of a Hollywood movie. At the request of the Judicial Police, a Navy Corvette went to the south of Morocco, in the Atlantic Ocean, between Casablanca and Agadir, 800 kms from Portugal, carrying a group of special operatives.

The Marines boarded a speedboat, approached the freighter, climbing on board. With the Marines on board, the 17 crew members – Indians and Pakistanis – did not offer any resistance, which allowed the anti-narcotics team of the Judicial Police to enter the freighter and make the arrests. None of the alleged traffickers were armed.

The intervention took place the night of Thursday to Friday (26^th/27^th October 2017) and the ship is now in the custody of the PJ. The only cargo on board the 115-meter freighter with the Comoros flag, was 1130 kg of cocaine with the packages bearing the Hugo Boss logo. The drug was hidden in the underside of the ship, in an empty ballast tank (they usually receive ballast water to maintain vessel stability).

“This was also the result of an exchange of information within the framework of the MAOC-N – Maritime Analysis and Operations Center-Narcotics, which is based in Lisbon,” said DN Joaquim Pereira, director of the Unit for Combating Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs (UNCTE) of the PJ, who yesterday explained to the press the operation, flanked by commanders Carvalho Pinto, director of the naval operations center of the Navy and Bernardo da Costa, Air Force spokesman FA). The monitoring of the ship was undertaken by the Air Force.

The drugs would be worth around 50 million euros (bills made at 45 euros a gram of cocaine) but after treating the cocaine would be worth three times more than that, said those responsible.

Bosnia, Timor, Haiti, Central African Republic and now New York. Luís Carrilho is the new UN police adviser

As a special adviser to the United Nations Police, he takes a goals of the organization very seriously: “We need to increase the number of women police in United Nations missions.” It is an important objective for operational reasons: “On the ground – the insecurity that justifies the presence of the UN in many conflict countries – there are many victims and vulnerable groups who need support and women police have a better ability to protect civilians, particularly children, women, the elderly and those mutilated.

While still in command of the United Nations police corps at the RCA peace mission, Luís Carrilho was honoured with Outstanding Role Model, becoming the first Portuguese official to receive such a UN distinction. Now, as a police adviser, Luís Carrilho will continue with his eyes on the world map, but this time as a strategist.. “The division where I am is strategically coordinating police actions on the ground both in peacekeeping missions such as the Central African Republic and in political missions such as the Guinea Bissau.”

The official recalls that, currently, there are 18 international missions where the UN police force is located. “It is important that there are people with technical skills and an adequate profile for these missions and that coordination between the mission and the member countries is done in an integrated way through the Police Division in New York,” he said.

Luís Carrilho praises the role that the various Portuguese security forces have had in missions abroad, “including the GNR and the Foreigners and Borders Service, but also civilian technicians who in Timor made a huge contribution.”