Month: June 2020

Nazaré beach, in the district of Leiria, has a potential occupancy capacity of up to 17,100 users, during the bathing season, and another six are marked with “possible capacity problems”, today announced the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA).

APA today published the capacities of the beaches of the Algarve and Tejo / Oeste regions, “taking into account that the 6th of June marks the beginning of the bathing season”, stating that the rest will be published soon, “considering the respective dates of opening”.

“These capacities are an important auxiliary for the management and safe use of beaches, as it is from these values ​​that information can be given – to the citizen and to the authorities – in order to direct the appropriate behaviors, in a responsible way”, advances the APA, in a statement.

In the context of the covid-19 pandemic, the Government determined that the bathing season only begins this year on June 6, with APA being responsible for determining the capacity of the beaches.

In relation to the Tagus / West region, after Nazaré beach, the Fonte da Telha beach (I, II and III), with a capacity of 14,500 users, and the beach of Carcavelos, in the municipality of Cascais, with 12,100.

In the eastern Algarve, the two most crowded beaches are Monte Gordo, in the municipality of Vila Real de Santo António, and Faro, with a capacity of 12,600 bathers each.

In Barlavento, Praia da Rocha, in the municipality of Portimão, has a potential occupancy capacity of 8,800 people, the highest in the area, followed by Meia Praia Nascente, in the municipality of Lagos, with 8,700.

In the listings released today, the Portuguese Environment Agency indicates “potential stocking problems” on the beaches of Quarteira (municipality of Loulé), Faro (Faro), Monte Gordo (Vila Real de Santo António), Armação de (Silves) , from Armação de Pêra / Pescadores (Silves) and da Rocha (Portimão).

In 63 beaches, APA points out that the potential occupation capacity may rise, “considering the variation of the tide”. This is the case, for example, of São João da Caparica beach, in Almada, whose capacity could increase from 9,700 to 12,200.

“In a covid context, it is important to guarantee the safety distance, which may imply a reduction in the capacity for occupying the sand on certain beaches. However, on some beaches, particularly on large ones, the values ​​now obtained may be higher than the capacity to load defined in the “Coastal Coastal Planning Plans / Coastal Coast Programs, taking into account” that, in the current conditions, users are more available to occupy an area of ​​sand that exceeds the limits of comfort areas “, considered in those documents explains the APA.

In the case of “coastal and transitional waters”, the calculation of the capacity of each beach was determined through a combination of criteria such as “definition of the area of ​​sand that can be used for bathing with as much depth as possible”, “the biophysical characteristics and safeguard strips to coastal risk “,” the lateral limit of the beaches “, the” influence of the tide “and the” use of an area of ​​8.5 m2 / person, considering the necessary physical distance for sanitary reasons “, among others.

As for “inland waters”, the area usable for bathing practice was defined “considering the extension of the front of the bathing area and a strip with the usable depth counted from the limit of the water plane”, being also considered “the surrounding spaces available for bathing use “, such as picnic parks, terraces, lawns, playgrounds and swimming pools with floating platforms.

During the bathing season of this year, from June 6, beach users must ensure a physical distance of 1.5 meters between different groups and a distance of three meters between parasols, awnings or stems, according to a decree-law approved by the Government.

In addition to the “physical safety distance between users when accessing and using the beach and bathing in the sea or in the river”, citizens must comply with respiratory etiquette measures and proceed with frequent hand cleaning, as well as “avoid access to areas identified with high or full occupation ”

Regarding the state of occupation of the beaches, there will be “traffic light type”, in which the green color indicates low occupation (1/3), yellow is high occupation (2/3) and red means full occupation (3/3) .

According to the Government, information on the state of occupation of the beaches will be “updated continuously, in real time”, namely in the InfoPraia application and on the APA website.

The Minister of Internal Administration stated today that it is intended to keeping land and air borders with Spain under border control, as long as there is an internal quarantine in the neighbouring country.

“We, at the moment, have the land border closed (under border control) until June 15. We will analyse this situation. I admit that, if the Spanish authorities themselves have already said that before July 1 there will be no freedom of movement, we probably have to keep the land border under control all this month of June “, said Eduardo Cabrita, speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of the Cedofeita PSP Police Station in Porto.

He stressed that “it does not make sense to restart the land border as long as there is an epidemiological situation in Spain that requires monitoring and as long as there is an internal quarantine”.

Eduardo Cabrita recalled, however, that at this time the movement of cross-border workers “within authorized crossing points” and the movement of seasonal workers is authorized.

In addition, he added, Portugal, in conjunction with the Spanish authorities, has health corridors that allow Portuguese emigrants from France to cross Spain, “not to be in Spain, but to come to Portugal”.

Regarding airspace, the minister explained that it was never closed in the European Union, with only flights to Italy and Spain being limited, “as a result of the epidemiological situation verified in these two countries”, a situation that remains today.

“The rest of the destinations within the European Union have never been closed. There were no flights due to the airlines’ decision and the circulation limitations. What we expect here is for Faro Airport, which started flying again this week, or for the Airport Francisco Sá Carneiro is to see Portugal as a safe destination, safe also from a health point of view that allows a resumption of the economy here “, he declared.

With regard to flights to Spain and Italy, the minister stated that the situation is being assessed according to the evolution of the epidemiological situation in these two countries.

“We are going to make this situation assessment. Another meeting of ministers of internal affairs will take place this Friday. What I guarantee is that these flights to Spain, as well as the land border, are already suspended until June 15th, we will do however, the reassessment. I would say that as far as Spain is concerned, there is no point in replacing flights as long as there is an internal quarantine “, he concluded.

 

 

 

The National Republican Guard (GNR) today begins the inspection of rural land following the end of the cleaning period, which was extended due to the Covid-19 pandemic, providing for fines between 280 and 120,000 euros.

“So far, 23,852 non-compliant situations have been identified, already communicated to the respective municipalities, with a greater incidence in Leiria, Castelo Branco, Viseu, Coimbra, Braga, Santarém, Vila Real, Viana do Castelo and Aveiro”, said the GNR, in response to the Lusa agency, within the scope of the deadline for cleaning forest land.

With the beginning of the inspection of the cleaning of rural lands, “the priority of GNR’s activities will be in the 1,114 priority parishes” due to the high risk of fire and the approximately 24,000 non-compliances identified risk administrative proceedings, punishable by fines of 280 to 10,000 euros, in the case of a natural person, and from 1,600 to 120,000 euros, in the case of legal persons.

The deadline for carrying out land cleaning operations, which ended on 15 March, but was extended, by decision of the Government, first to 30 April and then to 31 May, following exceptional and temporary measures concerning the pandemic of covid-19 disease.

On April 16, after the first extension of the deadline for cleaning land until April 30, the Secretary of State for Internal Administration, Patrícia Gaspar, said that the model for preventing and fighting forest fires could undergo “new adjustments”.

Operation Floresta Secura 2020 started, as in previous years, “with a strong awareness campaign”, in which 3,572 awareness actions were carried out, which reached 55,044 people ”.

According to the National Association of Forestry, Agricultural and Environment Companies (ANEFA), regardless of the extension of the period for cleaning forest land, this year there was less demand from the owners for these works, fearing, therefore, “great catastrophes ”.

“If the factors that were observed in 2017, with regard to climate change, of all these peaks that arise from heat and winds are combined, we will face major catastrophes this year, I have no doubt of that”, said the president of ANEFA, Pedro Serra Ramos, in statements to the Lusa agency, considering that the cleaning of rural land is a “fundamental problem”, which goes beyond the question of the deadline.

In addition to the approximately 24,000 situations of non-compliance with the cleaning of forest land, GNR records “12 detainees and 68 identified for the practice of the crime of forest fire, with 370 cases for administrative offences being prepared, of which one for lack of recovery of burnt areas, 296 in burning and 73 in burning, due to unauthorized performance or negligence in their execution, revealed the GNR.

In view of the non-compliance by the owners with the deadline for cleaning land, the city councils have to guarantee, until June 30 – a deadline that was until May 31, but it was also extended -, the execution of all the fuel management works.

In case of non-compliance by the municipalities, “the following month, 20% of the twelfth of the current transfers from the Financial Equilibrium Fund (FEF) are retained”, according to the Exceptional Regime for Secondary Fuel Management Bands. Source Lusa.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.8 on the Richter scale was felt early this morning in São Miguel, in the Azores, an event with an epicenter about 19 kilometers east / northeast of Formigas.

In a statement, the Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service of the Azores (SRPCBA), which cites the Azores Seismovolcanic Surveillance and Information Center (CIVISA), informs that the earthquake was recorded at 07:07 local (08:07 in Lisbon) .

According to the information available so far, the event was felt with maximum intensity IV / V on the Modified Mercalli scale in the parishes of Água Retorta, Faial da Terra, Senhora dos Remédios, Povoação, Ribeira Quente and Furnas, in the municipality of Povoação .

The earthquake was also felt with intensity IV in the Northeast, Achada, Achadinha and Salga, in the municipality of Nordeste, and in Ponta Garça, Ribeira Seca, S. Miguel, S. Pedro and Água d’Alto, in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo .

The Civil Protection also states that the earthquake also felt with intensity III / IV in Ribeira Chã, Água de Pau, Santa Cruz, Nossa Senhora do Rosário and Cabouco, in the municipality of Lagoa, and Lomba de S. Pedro, Lomba da Maia, Maia , São Brás, Porto Formoso, Ribeirinha, Ribeira Seca, Rabo de Peixe and Pico da Pedra, in the municipality of Ribeira Grande.

“This event was also felt with intensity III / IV in Livramento, S. Roque, Fajã de Baixo, Fajã de Cima, S. Pedro, S. Sebastião and Santa Clara, in the municipality of Ponta Delgada”, reads in the statement sent to the newsrooms, adding that the earthquake was felt with intensity III in Feteiras, Candelária, Ginetes, Santa Bárbara and Capelas, in the municipality of Ponta Delgada.

According to the Civil Protection of the Azores, “CIVISA continues to monitor the evolution of the situation, issuing new communications if necessary”.