Portugal Safety and Security report Wednesday 3^rd July 2024

 

Good morning.  The rural firefighting system, known as the DECIR, has been reinforced since Monday 1st July to reach its maximum capacity, with 14,155 operatives, 3,162 teams and 3,174 vehicles now on standby, with 72 aerial resources being available. “Delta” phase as it is known, lasts until 30th September, with resources increasing slightly since the same period in 2023.

Traditionally this time of the year is when there are a greater number of rural fires with the potential to burn with some intensity, although in more recent years some major fires have occurred outside this period, including the October 2017 fires, in which over 40 people died.

A few days ago the National Commander of Emergency and Civil Protection, André Fernandes gave an interview to Jornal de Notícias in which he explained the strategy to be adopted during this period. He gave an assurance that the combat device (DECIR) is prepared to respond to large-scale rural fires, but the objective is to “try to stop as much as possible” the fires when they are in the initial phase. The initial phase is in the first 90 minutes of response to a fire and in 2023 this was achieved in 90% of all fires.

At Safe Communities Portugal we closely monitor fires and the impression we have, is what the ANEPC describe as “muscular initial attack”, has been very successful. Of nearly 8,000 fires last year only 10% had the potential to turn into major fires, but the result was only one major fire, which was in Odemira region. André Fernandes statement confirms this. “What we have been doing is trying to stop as much as possible, or reduce, the number of fires that progress to expanded attack [larger scale] and, if they do, here we have the prepared device, with the technical capacity, that expanded attack nowadays requires”.

The use of the word “nowadays” reflects reality, due to extreme weather conditions and the huge amount of fuel around. Therefore fires have the potential to burn with great intensity and spread at a quicker rate, sometimes to a point where the fire becomes more difficult or impossible to suppress through normal combat means – which was seen in the fires of 2017 and some other major fires since then.

Rural fire management, however, is not just the role of the authorities and firefighters; everyone has a role to play – this means society as a whole. Creating awareness of the risk of fires and the dangers that these pose, is the first stage of being prepared. The more prepared we are, the more that can be done firstly to reduce the number of ignitions, and secondly should a fire start, to reduce its impact. The main steps are cleaning land around properties and adopting the type of behaviour that avoids fires starting in the first place.

Not unexpectedly The amount of water stored fell in June (left map) in all river basins compared to the last day of the previous month (right map), according to data from the National Water Resources Information System (SNIRH). The Barlavento Algarve basin continues to be the one with the lowest amount of reserve water, falling from 22.3% in May to 20.8% in June. Almost half of the territory of mainland Portugal was in a weak or moderate meteorological drought at the end of May, with a greater focus on the South region. The message is very clear that we must conserve water at all costs, especially in the south of the mainland.

Further away but a situation that has some influence on the Iberian Peninsula  is that Hurricane Beryl has strengthened into a Category 5 Atlantic hurricane — the earliest on record. A state of emergency was declared Sunday night by Grenadian Gov. General Cécile La Grenade will remain in effect until Tuesday morning. All businesses have closed except the police force, hospitals, prisons, waste disposal and ports. It is expected to affect Jamaica on Wednesday with “life threatening winds and a storm surge”. This is evidence of the warming of the Atlantic due to climate change. Warmer oceans are an ingredient to the forming of cyclones, which can move across the Atlantic affecting on some occasions Portugal. We will continue to monitor over the coming months.

Our team at Safe Communities wish to a safe and enjoyable week ahead.

News

Minister reiterates Government’s willingness to reach an agreement with PSP and GNR structures

Torres Novas, Santarém, 02 Jul 2024 (Lusa) – The Minister of Internal Administration, Margarida Blasco, today praised the stance of the PSP unions and GNR associations, which are committed to “seeking the best possible agreement with the Government”, believing that it is possible to reach a consensus.

“We are all acting in good faith and I believe that both the unions and the associations have behaved and taken the approach of seeking the best possible agreement with the Government. This position deserves our full respect and the Government is available to discuss this agreement until the end”, said the minister, on the sidelines of the event commemorating the 157th Anniversary of the Public Security Police, which took place today in Torres Novas, in the district of Santarém.

Asked about the meeting between the Government and the PSP unions and GNR associations scheduled for July 9, the minister reiterated the Government’s “availability” to reach an agreement with the PSP and GNR structures, stating that the executive, “in its good will”, will listen to the proposals of each union”.

Negotiations between the Government and the PSP unions and GNR associations on the allocation of a risk allowance remain, after three months, without an agreement after the MAI proposed an increase of 300 euros in the PSP and GNR risk supplement, an amount that would be paid in phases until 2026, increasing the fixed supplement from the current 100 to 400 euros, in addition to maintaining the variable component of 20% of the base salary.

In response, the platform of PSP unions and GNR associations, which initially asked for a 600 euro increase, now proposes an increase of 400 euros paid in three instalments: 200 euros this year, 100 euros in 2025 and another 100 in 2026.

At the end of the PSD parliamentary sessions in Sintra, the Prime Minister stated today that the Government will not put “even one more cent” into the proposal for the security forces, saying that it has already made “a dreadful effort” and is not available to “bring back financial instability”.

The minister also considers that the executive has taken a series of actions “to improve equipment and improve training” of the security forces, stating that the Government has in hand a “deep plan to improve all infrastructures in mainland Portugal, the Azores and Madeira”.

Regarding the report by the General Inspectorate of Internal Administration (IGAE) which warned of the lack of vehicles available to the PSP and GNR and of buildings and facilities in a “poor state of conservation”, Margarida Blasco says that the Government’s priority is to identify, together with the local authorities, “the stations and police stations that need to be restored and rehabilitated”.

Regarding the 481 new agents who completed the course today in Torres Novas, at the PSP practical school, the minister highlighted the importance of the new agents, stating that “they are the symbol of the next courses and of the next young people who embrace this career in public security”.

What’s happening with flights in Europe? Hundreds of cancellations and significant delays

In recent days, Europe has experienced half of all flights that were cancelled worldwide. Last Friday alone, 600 flights were cancelled and more than eight thousand suffered significant delays. The data comes from the Flight Aware platform, which blames bad weather and a lack of staff at airports, airlines and control towers.

The holidays haven’t even started yet for most Europeans, but there are already hundreds of cancelled flights and thousands of delays at airports across the continent.

Last weekend alone, Europe recorded half of all cancellations worldwide. And last Friday, June 28, there were 600 flights cancelled and more than 8,000 delayed. In many cases, delays were more than 3 hours, especially for departures from Spain and the UK.

The data was revealed by the Flight Aware platform and confirmed by the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation. In the last week of June, planes flying over Europe accumulated almost 33,000 hours of delays, an increase of 153% compared to last year. And this Monday, a day considered quiet, 7 out of 10 flights took off later than scheduled. Especially from Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris, London, Madrid and Barcelona. In other words, from the busiest airports.

According to experts, there are two causes for these excessive delays and cancellations: bad weather in some European countries, with heavy rain and heavy rains in recent days, and a lack of staff at airports, airlines and, even more so, in control towers.

According to official data from the European Union, last year one in every four flights arrived late at its destination. The worst result in the last 20 years.