Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 21st February 2024
Good morning everyone. Well I hope you are enjoying the spring like weather with sunshine and cloudless skies in the south but also temperatures in the lower 20s in the north. Not unusual in the south but temperatures over 20C in the far north in February are far above usual.
The warm and dry weather however is exacerbating the drought situation in the Algarve and yesterday the Government admitted that it would introduce “additional more serious measures” to guarantee the minimum reserves that allow the supply of water for priority uses in the Algarve, if the current ones prove to be insufficient, states a resolution published today in Diário da Republic. This despite the fact that reservoirs in the Algarve continue to increase their storage levels, albeit by small percentage levels.
According to the resolution of the Council of Ministers, possible additional measures, which provide for a “higher degree of contingency” can be implemented after the reassessment of the drought situation in the region, which will be carried out in June. “[…] The Government reserves the right, if the measures now adopted prove to be insufficient, to, under the Basic Law on Civil Protection, […] declare a calamity situation”, reads the document.
The situation appears critical, and reflects the lack of long term planning, thus requiring drastic action, to avoid supplies drying up. The state of calamity is the type of civil protection measures that were introduced during covid-19 and during major fires. This can be introduced on a national or regional basis as the situation dictates. Let us hope it does not come to this. One way to help avoid this is for each and every one of use to conserve water.
There seems at present to be quite a few scams around. One that is regularly surfacing are phone calls being received from a caller speaking in English, stating that receiver is under criminal investigation. Such calls originate from mobile telephone numbers from Portuguese operators, but all conversations are held in English, usually with an accent common in the region
When a victim receives a call of this type and answers it, they are immediately asked to listen a recorded message that, claiming to originate from a supposed “International Judicial Police”. The caller warns that your national identification document has been linked to a serious international criminal offence, which is why an arrest warrant has already been issued in her name.
This entire procedure is criminal. The sole purpose of the authors of these telephone calls is to defraud less attentive victims (by passing personal and bank details), causing them fear and anxiety that lead them to commit thoughtless acts, which will cause property damage. This is a scam and on no account should the receiver provide any information or follow the instructions. In July last year the Public Prosecutors Office issued an alert on the scam and this can be read here: https://cibercrime.ministeriopublico.pt/pagina/alerta-cibercrime-falsos-telefonemas-policiais?