Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 20th July 2022
By Mike Evans
Good morning and welcome to this week’s Algarve situation report. Obviously the major talking point in the past week has been the big fire at Gambelas, near Faro which then spread to the Quinta do Lago complex. The last time the region saw such a big fire was in 2021 when there was a similar size fire at Castro Marim. Thankfully we can report that there were no injuries to firefighters and civilians although a number of sheds in the grounds of properties in Quinta do Lago were destroyed. It was also reported by one of our own volunteers that some residences in the area were evacuated for reasons of safety and a number of roads around the complex were closed to all traffic. After the fire reignited on Friday it was finally brought under control and even now the area is being checked to make sure nothing can start again.
5 MUNICIPALITIES PLACED IN MAXIMUM DANGER CATEGORY BY IPMA
The Algarve municipalities of Loulé, São Brás de Alportel and Tavira are currently in maximum danger of fire, according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA).
In all, there are about 50 municipalities in the districts of Bragança, Vila Real, Viseu, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Santarém, Castelo Branco, Portalegre and Faro that present the maximum danger of rural fire.
The IPMA also placed the Algarve municipalities of Castro Marim, Alcoutim, Silves, Monchique, Portimão, Lagos, Vila do Bispo and Aljezur at very high risk of rural fire, in addition to several municipalities of Vila Real, Viseu, Bragança, Guarda, Coimbra, Leiria, Santarém, Castelo Branco, Portalegre, Lisbon and Beja and Faro.
With high danger are Vila Real de Santo António and Albufeira, while at moderate danger are Lagoa, Faro and Olhão.
The fire hazard, determined by the IPMA, has five levels, ranging from reduced to maximum and the calculations are obtained from the air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and amount of precipitation in the last 24 hours.
2 BEACH INCIDENTS IN VALE DO LOBO AND ALBUFEIRA COASTLINE
A 74-year-old woman died on Monday afternoon, the 18th, after feeling unwell in the water, and going into cardiac arrest, on Vale do Lobo beach, in the municipality of Loulé .
Following the alert received at 12:36, through the Lisbon Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC Lisboa), informing that a person was in cardiac arrest on the beach of Vale do Lobo, elements of the Local Command of the Maritime Police of Faro and of INEM were despatched to the location.
The victim, a 74-year-old woman, was pulled out of the water by lifeguards on duty on the beach who promptly provided assistance and started resuscitation manoeuvres for the victim, in collaboration with lifeguards who carry out surveillance of the beaches of Loulé. , until the arrival of INEM elements, who continued the resuscitation manoeuvres.
After several attempts at resuscitation, it was not possible to reverse the situation, and the death was declared on the spot by the INEM doctor. The Public Ministry was contacted and the body was transported by the Portuguese Red Cross to the Instituto de Medicina Legal in Faro.
In the second incident on 18 July, the maritime authorities rescued a woman who was unconscious at sea, off the beach of Barranco das Belharucas, in Albufeira. She was transported in serious condition to the hospital, announced the National Maritime Authority (AMN).
The 45-year-old victim “was understood to have become unconscious in the water” and was taken from the sea to the sand by bathers, receiving first aid from “nurses who were on site” and then being transported by the National Emergency Institute Doctor to hospital, the AMN said in a statement.
6 MEN ARRESTED ON SUSPICION OF THEFT IN ALBUFEIRA
The GNR detained six men suspected of qualified theft committed this Monday, in Albufeira, as part of an investigation that began in April, the police corporation announced this Tuesday.
The detainees are between 23 and 43 years old and were identified in the investigation carried out by the Loulé Criminal Investigation Nucleus (NIC) of the Faro Territorial Command of the GNR, which began after the occurrence of several thefts in vehicles used in the construction, added the GNR in a statement. .
“As part of an investigation that has been running since April, for several thefts of vehicles linked to civil construction, the Guard military launched several police steps to identify the perpetrators of the crimes, where it was possible to detect the suspects and the means used to carry out the crimes. crimes”, assured the Faro Territorial Command.
The same source stressed that the results of the investigation allowed investigators to substantiate six arrest warrants and seven search warrants, four in homes and three in attachments, which were executed on Monday.
Following the investigations carried out, “eight mobile phones, five televisions, three industrial vacuum cleaners, two vehicles, four car rims, an electric piano, a ‘hoverboard’, a child restraint system for motor vehicles were seized”, revealed the GNR. .
Among the material seized were also “about 2,700 kilos of carob, various tools and professional machinery”, as well as “textile articles and pieces of clothing” and “clothing and footwear used in theft”, he added.
40th INTERNATIONAL MOTORBIKE FESTIVAL GOES OFF WITHOUT ISSUES
Despite the fire that meant that some of the areas originally designated for camping was not able to be used, over 35,000 bikers from all over Europe enjoyed a weekend of music and interaction. Sunday saw the procession through Faro of the bikers and despite the issues the organisers stressed that the event was a success.
CULATRA ISLAND TO HAVE THE FIRST 100% SUSTAINABLE FISHING BOAT
The Secretary of State for Fisheries, Teresa Coelho, participates this Tuesday, July 19, in the 35th anniversary of the Residents’ Association of Culatra Island, when the first boat in the fishing sector powered by solar energy will be inaugurated. , as well as a photovoltaic park, already installed on site.
The action will have a special focus on the energy transition that has been underway in Culatra since the creation and implementation of the Action Plan for Sustainable Tourism on the island of Culatra, created in May this year by the University of Algarve and the Make it Better Association.
The objective has been to define strategies for the creation of new tourist typologies that combine environmental sustainability with social inclusion.
Sponsored within the scope of the “Culatra 2030 – Sustainable Energy Community” project and financed by the Mar2020 Operational Program, these projects aim to contribute to the decarbonisation of the Ria Formosa.
The ceremony will take place at the Fishing Port of Culatra Island.
ALGARVE WITH 4407 CASES AND 20 DEATHS BETWEEN 5 AND 15 JULY
To end this report we finish on the latest situation regarding Covid 19 in the region.In the Algarve, there were 4407 infections by SARS-CoV-2 and 20 deaths between July 5th and 15th, the Directorate-General for Health ( DGS ) indicated this Friday .
Portugal recorded 48,906 infections with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, 119 deaths associated with covid-19 and a further decrease in hospitalizations.
According to the DGS weekly epidemiological bulletin, compared to the previous week, there were 16,279 fewer cases of infection, with a reduction of 10 deaths in the comparison between the two periods.
As for hospital occupancy in mainland Portugal due to covid-19, the DGS started to release data on hospitalizations for the Monday before the report was published on Fridays.
Based on this criterion, the bulletin indicates that, last Monday, 1,140 people were hospitalised, 73 less than on the same day of the previous week, with 57 patients in intensive care units, minus 15.
According to the DGS bulletin, the seven-day incidence was, on Monday, at 475 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, having registered a 25% decrease compared to the previous week, and the transmissibility index (Rt) of the coronavirus rose slightly from 0.88 to 0.89.
With this have a great week.