Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 19th March 2025
by Mike Evans
Good day to you all, and I suppose we have to start by talking about the weather! Suffice to say this has got to have been the wettest few weeks for a number of years.According to the outgoing Minister of Environment and Energy this is the most rain for 20 years.
With so much rain having fallen, the reservoirs at Odeleite and Beliche have announced that they will be carrying out temporary, controlled discharges of water into the Guadiana River. These discharges are ‘controlled’: they should not cause significant changes in the waterline level, since the final stretch of the Guadiana is very wide. But the bottom line is “be aware” and take note of the advice.
The discharges will start in the next few days. As for the ‘wet season’, weather.com suggests rain will continue falling, here and there, until Tuesday March 25. This seems to be borne out by IPMA (sea and atmosphere institute) whose 10-day forecast shows rain every day. What these discharges mean is that there will be an increase in the amount of water in streams in the area, and particularly in the Guadiana River.
Across the region there is more standing water in fields and roads are blocked in some areas.
Now a look at what else has been happening across the region.
Strong Winds Cause Havoc across the Region
As depression Laurence passed over the Algarve yesterday, heavy rain and strong winds damaged the roof of the old Albufeira fish market, on Praia dos Pescadores, causing tiles to fly off, hitting some nearby terraces. A source from the civil protection authorities said that there were no injuries reported, only material damage, and that this was the third extreme wind phenomenon recorded in the Algarve yesterday.
In Silves, three houses suffered damage to their roofs, causing one resident to move in with relatives. “There were incidents of trees and some structures falling, as well as mass movements onto the road and some flooding, but without any major incidents”, said the civil protection. There are two more depressions forecast this week.
Lagos, Olhao & Faro Simplify Foreigners NIFF, NISS Applications
Lagos, Olhão and Faro are among the first cities to simplify the applications for NIF, NISS and NNU for foreigners.
From Monday 17th March 2025, foreign citizens with a regular status in Portugal will be able to apply for these identification numbers all at once, reducing pressure on customer service departments.
“It is an important measure because it simplifies people’s lives” and “allows citizens to go to just one service in person, instead of going to three different public services, or to do it comfortably at home, because this service can also be done at home”, via the internet using a digital mobile key, the Minister of Youth and Modernization, Margarida Balseiro Lopes, told Lusa news agency.
“By saving people from having to visit these stores and public services in person, we are also ensuring that we do not overload the work and lives of the people who work in these spaces, who often find themselves under enormous pressure due to the number of people seeking these public services,” explained the minister.
This measure “is aimed at foreign citizens, who do not have a citizen card and who already have a residence permit or have already requested one, who have nationality from a European Union country, who have requested international protection”, that is, who already hold refugee status or are beneficiaries of international protection.
“There is another problem we have in Portugal, because we have many citizens who do not yet speak Portuguese and who also have difficulty accessing this information because of the language barrier”, acknowledged the minister. On the gov.pt online page, a virtual conversation assistant is now available to clarify doubts in 12 different languages.
From now on, “the virtual assistant tells people all the steps they need to take” to request identification numbers in their relationship with the State, and indicates which “citizen space they can go to”.
This simplification model was foreseen in the Migration Plan announced in June last year by the Government. The measure “required coordination between several entities, because we are simplifying people’s lives”, but required the combined efforts of organisations such as the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum, the Administrative Modernization Agency, the Tax Authority, health and social security services, among others.
According to the Government, “this measure will have a double positive effect: it will simplify the process of obtaining these identification numbers for foreign citizens and, at the same time, it will improve the efficiency of public services to serve all citizens, reducing the pressure on face-to-face service”.
For now, the system is only possible in the 10 ‘citizen spaces’, but the aim is for it to be “progressively extended to the entire network, which as of Monday has more than 930 offices”.
In addition to face-to-face assistance, information about the process is also available by telephone through the Citizen Line (210 489 010), or on the Single Digital Services Portal, gov.pt.
It is possible to “request, in a single application, the Tax Identification Number (NIF), the Social Security Identification Number (NISS) and the National User Number (NNU)”, says the Government, in a statement.
There are now 10 of these Espaço Cidadão offices across the country – Braga, Cascais, Lisbon, Olhão , Lagos , Setúbal, Porto, Loures, Oeiras and Faro.
3 Arrested for Possession of Weapons in Portimao and Olhao
The Public Security Police (PSP) in the Algarve made unrelated early morning arrests on Saturday, all for possession of weapons.
A 23 year old man was arrested in Portimão for illegal possession of a firearm, and two other suspects aged 16 and 18 were arrested in Olhão, for committing a robbery using a bladed weapon.
The young man arrested in Portimão was wandering around in the nightlife area of Praia da Rocha, in possession of a firearm. The Special Police Unit intervention team was called to the scene and managed to locate the suspect who when searched was carrying an illegal 6.35 mm caliber pistol, with three rounds of ammunition and ready to fire. The PSP found that the detainee had an “extensive criminal record” and that he had recently been sentenced to a 6 year prison term for drug trafficking, assault and robbery, and is awaiting the outcome of the appeal against the sentence he presented in the case in question.
In Olhão, a robbery was reported on a main road in which the victim was approached by two hooded teenage men using a bladed weapon, and told to hand over several items he had in his possession. The two suspects escaped after the robbery on an electric bicycle.
Based on the descriptions provided by the victim, the Olhão PSP managed to intercept the suspects. The police recovered the stolen goods, and seized the bladed weapon and two black “mountain pass” caps from the men.
All those arrested were brought before the Court on Saturday, and in the case of Portimão, preventive detention was ordered and in the case of Olhão, weekly presentations at the Police Station were ordered for both suspects.
5 Injured at Wall Collapse in Guia
Five construction workers suffered minor injuries after a wall collapsed at a building site on a housing estate on Rua General Humberto Delgado, in Guia.
The alert was given at 12:19pm, resulting in firefighters from Albufeira and São Bartolomeu de Messines, INEM and GNR attending the scene, with a total of 9 vehicles and 23 operatives.
All the injured were treated at the scene and later taken to hospital for further treatment. Two victims were taken to Portimão Hospital and three to Faro Hospital. None of the victims required serious medical attention.
Castro Marim Holds Awareness Sessions Against Forest Fires
Several locations in the municipality of Castro Marim have and will continue to host awareness-raising sessions for citizens against forest and rural fires until the end of March. The towns of Odeleite and Furnazinhas were the first to receive the initiative.
These actions involve the participation of the Parish Councils, the National Republican Guard , Civil Protection and the Firefighters of Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo António, in a direct approach to citizens and with the distribution of information leaflets, so that the population and the community are aware of fire prevention and fighting measures.
The Corte Pequena Hunters and Fishermen’s Club and the Cumeada de Alta Mora Social Center will host this initiative on March 14th, at 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm, respectively, while the following day this action will take place at the Corte do Gago quarterly market, starting at 11:00 am.
These sessions will also take place at Clube da Junqueira on March 27th, at 6:00 pm, in Pisa Barro de Cima the following day, at the same time, ending at Mercado Mensal do Azinhal on March 30th, at 11:00 am.
Until the next time, Stay Dry! And Stay Safe..