Portugal Safety and Security report Wednesday 31^st May 2023.

Good day to you all. The big talking point for many across the whole of the country has been the weather! Why are we all so fascinated by it? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that in Portugal we are all so dependent on water whether to consume or to use as irrigation. The fact that we are a very hot dry country for the most of the time also makes us look more closely when the weather pattern doesn’t run true to form.

The storms which included large hailstones and over 70,000 instances of Lightning across the country but mainly  affecting the North of the country have been very welcome for some and not so welcome for others. Wine Growers in the North of the country are reporting that many thousands of Euros will be lost as a result of the hailstones smashing into the vines.

In Castedo do Douro, in the municipality of Alijó, dozens of vineyards were affected by rain and hail. The municipalities of Alijó and Murça were among those most affected. The hail destroyed many vineyards and the producers speak of a loss of thousands of euros.

The storm that swept across the Douro region on Sunday afternoon, especially in the Vila Real district, lasted less than 10 minutes, but left its marks on hundreds of hectares of vineyards and olive groves.

Following the heavy hail and rain, the Municipality of Alijó has been on the ground surveying the damage caused to agriculture, with the aim of moving forward with a measure to help the affected farmers to bear the cost of calcium-based treatment needed for the healing of the vines.

The Municipality will pay for the treatment of the vineyards affected by the intense hail that hit an area of about 1,600 hectares, revealed the president.

From one area with heavy rain to another where there isn’t enough. The Alentejo farmers are having to sell off their cattle because their pastures are so dry and the cost of feed is so high they cannot afford to feed them so they are sending them to market much earlier than they would normally. This will impact on their value and their yearly income and many fear for the long term of farming livestock.

The forecast for the coming week is more of the same in some areas but with sunshine and clouds along the way. Temperatures will be around 1 degree higher than the average while some areas can expect up to 30 mm of rain.

So with that our team at Safe Communities wishes you a Safe and happy week ahead

News

Campaign “Tax Zero at the Wheel” registers almost 14 thousand infractions on the roads

Lisbon, May 30, 2023 (Lusa) – The road safety campaign “Taxa Zero ao Volante” recorded almost 14,000 infractions and around 2,500 accidents between May 23 and 29, security forces revealed today.

In a statement sent to newsrooms, the National Road Safety Authority (ANSR), the Public Security Police (PSP) and the National Republican Guard (GNR) revealed that 54,953 vehicles were inspected, translating into 13,846 infractions, of which 747 were related to driving under the influence of alcohol.

During the period during which this awareness-raising action on the risks of driving under the influence of alcohol, as part of the 2023 National Inspection Plan, took place, there were still eight deaths, 48 ​​serious injuries and 761 minor injuries in around 2,500 accidents.

This year’s figures reflect a decrease compared to the figures for the same period in 2022, with 87 fewer accidents, three fewer deaths, 11 fewer serious injuries and 85 fewer minor injuries.

The authorities also clarified that the accidents with fatalities occurred in the districts of Braga, Porto (2), Castelo Branco, Leiria, Lisbon, Évora and Faro, with the victims (5) between 21 and 82 years old. At the origin of these deaths were five light vehicles skidding, two being run over and a collision between two light vehicles.

The vast majority of inspection actions in Portugal were carried out by the GNR, with 39,076 vehicles inspected, while the PSP inspected 15,877 vehicles. In terms of infractions, the difference between the two security forces is smaller, with the GNR registering 8,649 (494 related to alcohol) and the PSP registering 5,197 (253 related to driving under the influence of alcohol).

310 drivers and passengers were also made aware by ANSR of the risks of drinking alcohol while driving, in the locations of Alenquer, Faro, Beja, Portalegre and Estremoz, in addition to publicizing the road safety campaign in digital media.

Drought: Brussels could provide 250 million euros to help farmers

This fund was made at the request of the Minister of Agriculture, Maria do Céu Antunes, who had the support of the countries of southern Europe, which were the most affected by the lack of precipitation.

The European Union could provide 250 million euros to help farmers affected by drought. The request was made by the Portuguese Minister of Agriculture, supported by the delegations of Spain, France and Italy. Maria do Céu Antunes said this Tuesday that the decision will be taken soon.

“The commissioner made himself available to study the possibility of mobilizing 250 million euros from the agricultural reserve to deal with these situations and for the Member States most affected by this dimension. It’s going to study, it’s going to regulate, it’s going to propose later so that we can present it”, informed Maria do Céu Antunes.

This Tuesday, the Environment Minister assured that the situation of the reservoirs is better and with more capacity than last year, but that there are some regions in worrying situations that will have to be analyzed in order to implement new measures.

With this scenario, there are already records that, without pastures for the cattle, due to the drought, and with feed and straw at high prices, cattle breeders in Baixo Alentejo are getting rid of the animals at auctions or at slaughterhouses. .

“Extensive livestock farming is having very serious problems because the pastures have not been developed and with that we are witnessing the use of compound feed ahead of time and with very high prices”, he developed

In view of this, the Minister of Agriculture stressed the urgency with which the funds had to be implemented to resolve the situation and to take precautions for next year.

Israeli and Italian secret agents were on the boat that sank Sunday in Italy

A vessel carrying Italian and foreign tourists sank on Sunday in northern Italy. Four people died and about 20 passengers were pulled from the water or managed to swim to shore.

Today, in a statement, Alfredo Mantovano, of the Italian Information Security Services, mourned the death of Claudio Alonzi, 62 years old, and Tiziana Barboni, 53 years old, both members of the Italian secret services who were on the ship “to commemorate the anniversary of one of the members of the group”.

Also killed in the sinking was Israeli Shimoni Erez, 50 years old and a retired Mossad agent, according to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The fourth victim is Anya Bozhkova, a Russian citizen and the wife of the boat’s owner, who rented it to tourists.

The remaining passengers on board the ship were also Italians and Israelis and there were certainly other members of the secret services, according to local media.

The vessel, on which a group of 22 people and the two crew were traveling, sank in the Lisanza and Dormelletto region, in the Lombardy region, due to a strong storm that caused it to capsize.

Most people managed to swim to shore between Lisanza and Piccaluga, while others were rescued by boats in the area.

According to the Italian media that reconstructed the event, after the accident there were suspicions that there were more secret service agents on the boat.

Authorities are investigating the causes of the accident, as the boat was carrying more than 20 people and had capacity for only 15 and also the reason why they did not return to land when the storm approached.