Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 19th February 2025
Good morning. The earthquake that occurred on Monday 17th February close to Lisbon is once again a wake-up call that we need in Portugal to be aware of the risk of earthquakes and be prepared. Although it was a borderline moderate magnitude earthquake, it was felt by many people as far as 300 kilometres from the epicentre, primarily along the south coast of the Algarve. Thankfully there are no reports, however, of injuries or damaged caused.
There were many reports being made to IPMA using their reporting link, but within minutes the IPMA website and Facebook had become inaccessible. This made it difficult to obtain vital information including the “Shake map”. Through some quick research, however, we found the map on the site of the USCG seismic monitoring organisation and were able to post this on our FB page within 18 minutes of the quake along with relevant information. The ANEPC published information 3 minutes before us and IPMA on Twitter 5 minutes before us, but neither used the Shake Map.
The IPMA responded in a statement that the IPMA website was inaccessible for a few minutes due to “an exceptionally high volume of traffic”, following the earthquake. It added that “an investment of 4.5 million euros is already planned, under the PRR [Recovery and Resilience Plan] and the State Budget, to reinforce the energy and IT network, as well as the geophysical/seismic monitoring and tsunami early warning infrastructure, which will also make it possible to overcome the constraints observed”.
And, in the event of the site being overloaded, as was the case on Monday, or a malfunction, a simplified version is made available, with essential information on all the institute’s notices.(Comment – but in our opinion NOT ALL essential information).
However, the organisation Citizens for Cybersecurity movement regretted the situation stating that the movement had already pointed out weaknesses in the infrastructure of the IPMA website, which in a major emergency situation of a potential major earthquake, “the IPMA systems will not be resilient to the increase in access”, assuming that the mobile and internet networks were able to resist.
Unfortunately, this is the second time the IPMA website has become inaccessible during an earthquake the first time being in August last year during the 5.3 mag quake off Sines. It is vital that steps are taken to address this problem.
We hope that learning from this, ways can be found to avoid outages of essential communication channels, such as Facebook, during major events due to a sudden far higher demand.
In monitoring social media we found that a certain meteorological group, with a very large following, had entitled this event in capitals as a “Breaking News Strong earthquake felt in Lisbon.” Such sensationalism in a headline would ring alarm bells and in any event was not true. We brought it to the attention of the page admin and I thank them for removing the word “strong”. In fact at 4.7 magnitude it was borderline “slight/moderate”. It is not a case of being pedantic as accuracy in reporting matters such as this is vitally important for obvious reasons. In fact a strong Mag 6 earthquake (which is the lowest magnitude for this category) would be 90 times stronger that a 4.7 earthquake so you can imaging the affect that a strong earthquake could have on a populated area, plus the threat of a tsunami.
If anyone needs further convincing, the 1969 Mag 7.8 earthquake which caused consider damage and 13 deaths in the Algarve, had an intensity 44,668 times stronger than the 4.7 Mag earthquake on Monday, which was felt 300 kms away. So one can only imaging the impact of strong or major earthquakes!
In Portugal the A Terra Treme earthquake awareness exercise is held one year on 5th November to help people be prepared for earthquakes and to practice the action to take in other words “Drop Cover Hold”. We feel that reminding people once a year is not enough and our strategy at Safe Communities is to remind people at periodic intervals throughout the year also using overseas earthquakes as examples.
There is also a need to focus attention more, we feel, on the fact that when an earthquake occurs people maybe outdoors or driving etc so know what action to take in these situations is important. We feel there should be more education on this topic as well as guidelines to help those who suffer from a disability such impaired vision or a mobility disability. We will be reflecting this to the ANEPC.
Now some good news regarding to the drought situation. January 2025 was the 2nd wettest since 2000 (wettest was 2001, 254.2 mm); a total precipitation of 190.3 mm was recorded, which corresponds to 181% of the average value 1991-2020. This resulted in a significant decrease in the area and intensity of meteorological drought, with only the coast of Alentejo and the Western Algarve in the weak drought class. So, at the end of January, only 6% of the mainland was in meteorological drought (weak class), compared with over 50% at the end of December 2024.
Our team at Safe Communities wishes you a safe and happy week ahead.
News
Marcelo insists that Europe must be considered in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine
Marcelo argues that there cannot be “understandings, however good they may be, between two or three so-called major powers” about the war in Ukraine, without “Europe being present”.
The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, insisted this Monday that Europe must be considered in the negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, stating that, “in total, it contributed more than its North American partner”.
The head of state was speaking to journalists at the Royal Portuguese Hospital of Beneficence, in Recife, where he arrived on Sunday for an official visit to Brazil, in connection with the meeting called by the French President, Emmanuel Macron.
Asked about what he expects from this meeting with the participation of some heads of government of European countries, the president of the European Commission, the president of the European Council and the secretary general of NATO, in Paris, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa did not want to “make wishes”.
“But what seems clear to me is the following: the world without Europe is poorer, the balance of power without Europe is not as balanced,” he said.
The President of the Republic stated that the war in Ukraine “is a global war, but one that is taking place in Europe and has to do with Europe’s security, and in which Europe, although not as much as the United States in terms of weapons, has contributed more overall than its North American partner”.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa therefore argued that there cannot be “understandings, however good they may be, between two or three so-called major powers” about the war in Ukraine, without “Europe being present, being considered, having an active voice, and not being treated as a minor matter”.
“Much that exists in the world would not exist without Europe,” he added.
Asked about the absence of Portuguese representation at this meeting in Paris, with the participation of the heads of government of Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark, the head of state responded that this happens “for a very simple reason”.
“The idea was European institutions, the five largest states, in the sense of the largest economies and the greatest contribution in terms of what will be discussed, and then with the addition of two countries, one of which obviously has a very particular involvement, which is Denmark, for reasons that are public and well-known, and another that has also followed transatlantic relations very closely and with great involvement”, he explained.
According to the President of the Republic, as far as Portugal is concerned, the important thing is to understand the following: “We, the Portuguese, are faithful to our allies, faithful to our partners, faithful to our friends . We like our allies, our partners and friends to be faithful to us, we Portuguese and we Europeans.”
Mayor of Faro and councillor tried for alleged violation of urban planning rules
The Public Prosecutor’s Office requests that the additional penalty of prohibition from exercising public office be applied to Rogério Bacalhau and Sophie Matias for serious disrespect of the duties of a public servant.
The mayor of Faro, Rogério Bacalhau, and councilor Sophie Matias will be tried for the crime of violating urban planning rules, according to the indictment relating to the case, to which Lusa had access.
At issue is the licensing of a project to build a motorhome park in the parish of Montenegro, next to Faro Airport, on agricultural land covered by the Vilamoura-Vila Real de Santo António Coastal Development Plan (POOC).
In the indictment, dated October 2023, the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) requests that the additional penalty of prohibition from exercising public office be applied to the two mayors, alleging that their conduct “reveals a clear and serious disregard for the duties inherent to the functions performed”.
In addition to the mayors, the head of the Urban Management Division and the director of the Infrastructure and Urban Planning Department of Faro City Council at the time of the events, a commercial company and its manager and the coordinator of the architectural and specialist project for the work were also named as defendants.
After the charges were brought, all the defendants requested that an investigation be opened, with the mayor claiming, at that stage of the proceedings, that he “did not commit any crime” and that he had only granted the issuance of the building permit “based on favourable technical opinions”.
However the Public Prosecutor’s Office stated that, “it is quite evident that “all the defendants knew that the property […] is located in an area where construction is prohibited and yet, they wanted the Motorhome Service Area to be built, aware of the non-compliance with the applicable regulations”.
According to the Portuguese-born senator, the community between Fall River, New Bedford (Massachusetts) and East Providence (Rhode Island) is currently “very anxious”, as it is “a hard-working community, made up of committed individuals, families and children”, in which, for now, these anti-immigration policies have not yet been felt. Even so, the senator states that both he and the other members of the delegation in the region are aware of the situation, revealing that they “want to do everything in our power to help”, as he stressed yesterday to José Manuel Bolieiro.
In addition, Faro and nine other districts on the mainland will be under a yellow warning on Tuesday and Wednesday, the 18th and 19th, due to the forecast of strong sea agitation, according to the warning issued by the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA). The yellow warning indicates a risk for certain activities dependent on the meteorological situation.
The municipality of Faro awarded, last Tuesday, February 11, the acquisition of a new urban fire-fighting vehicle, to be incorporated into the municipal fleet. The investment, with a global value of 484 thousand euros, was awarded to Sociedade Jacinto Marques de Oliveira.
In 2023 and 2024, the Volta ao Algarve was recognised as the best race on the UCI Pro series Circuit, reinforcing its notoriety internationally. This year’s route has been renewed to increase the sporting spectacle and competitiveness, crossing iconic scenarios in the region. The race starts in Portimão and covers nearly 750 kilometres over five stages. Highlights include sprint finishes in Lagos and Tavira and the challenging climb to Fóia via a new slope.
The Azores will receive 10 million euros to help implement the project to expand marine protected areas and to support the restructuring of the fishing sector, according to a memorandum signed on the island of Faial.
In the Algarve according to the Civil Protection, the heavy rain that lashed the central part of the Algarve region at the end of the morning, mainly the municipalities of Loulé and Faro, caused “minor flooding on public roads and in garages”. Up 12h30, 17 occurrences were recorded, most of them flooding in the urban perimeter of the cities of Loulé and Faro. Very heavy rain in Vilamoura caused some flooding. The heaviest rain was in Loulé with 39.5mm most of it falling between 100 and 1200 hrs. The yellow level rain warning were raised by the IPMA warning everyone that heavy rain was forecasted. It is important to follow these as well as the advice of the ANEPC. We can expect more of these weather conditions during the winter season.
With the end of tolls and the increase in the number of vehicles using the A22, a “more demanding” maintenance and conservation plan is required. “In several sections, the surface of the Via do Infante already shows clear signs of degradation. With winter, the end of tolls and the increase in traffic, the surface will wear out more quickly, so it is important that Infraestruturas de Portugal implement measures to guarantee the safety of users”, concluded the socialist deputy. The deputies also requested the removal of the old toll gates, with “particular urgency” for those that remain on the Guadiana River border and that “despite the end of tolls, they still alert drivers entering Portugal from Spain to the existence of a toll road”.
The detainees belonged to a group suspected of burglaries inside homes and were approached by the PSP while they were travelling in a car, having started to flee, first by car and then on foot, said the police force. “In this sense, the PSP pursued the four suspects on foot, with warning shots being fired into the air by the police officers involved, and the suspects, in order to avoid being approached by the police, jumped over the wall and fence of a school”, the security force explained. It was “following this escape” that the injured person “was hit by a gunshot in the foot”, explained the PSP, highlighting that the educational establishment “was used unexpectedly by the suspects” without causing injuries among students and other users.
The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, has promulgated the decree that elevates Boliqueime, in the municipality of Loulé, to the category of town. This follows hot on the heels of Almancil becoming a City. The decree-law, presented by the parliamentary group of the Socialist Party (PS), had been unanimously approved in the plenary session of the Assembly of the Republic on 17 January.
EUROPOL warned a few days ago of the growing problem of the online trafficking of counterfeit medicines. In 2024 Operation SHIELD V removed more than €11 million in illegal drugs from the market, involving 418 arrests and the dismantling of several criminal networks. They warn that: buying medicines in unauthorized and controlled locations puts your health at risk and funds organized crime. Selling sub-standard, falsely labelled, or falsified pharmaceutical products, as well as products diverted from the legal supply chain, organised crime networks are behind a wide range of illicit medicines and doping substances. EUROPOL’S advice is to be responsible and protect yourself from this type of fraud, and avoid unverified selling platforms especially on social media.
The SNS 24 Line reached a new high in January with more than 500,000 calls answered, the president of the Board of Directors of the Ministry of Health’s Shared Services (SPMS) announced this Tuesday.
The Albufeira Desalination Plant, Pomarão Water Intake and Pisão Dam projects are of great importance in the set of measures that have been taken to ensure the water resilience of the Algarve and Alentejo, a commitment made by the Government from the outset.
In order to speed up response times to medical emergencies, the Albufeira PDAE is directly connected to the security and rescue forces, who receive information about the activation of equipment in real time.
Authorities resumed operations on Sunday morning, with elements of the Local Command of the Maritime Police, the Port Authority of Vila do Porto and the Volunteer Fire Department of Santa Maria, and with the involvement of an aircraft from the Portuguese Air Force.
The plan, implemented by the Regional Directorate of Agriculture, Veterinary and Food and the Agrarian Development Service of São Miguel, includes partnerships with several entities in the fight against and attempt to eradicate the Asian wasp.
Almancil is a parish in the municipality of Loulé, with an area of 62.30 square kilometers and 10,677 inhabitants, according to the 2021 Census, a population increase that has almost doubled since 1981.Being that the area consists of the two major Holiday com[plexes, Vilamoura and Vale do Lobo it does beg the question, do you have to be a permanent resident to be part of the 8,000 people. Anyway, just what this elevation to City status means to the area we will wait to see but from all of us a Safe Communities, Congratulations.
On the 27th January, the Public Security Police launched the operation “Violence? No, thanks!”, to raise awareness among students in the 3rd cycle of primary and secondary education on issues such as school violence, the use and possession of weapons and juvenile delinquency.
Because of this, the council states that: “it is essential to once again alert all citizens that these illicit practices are subject to measures to protect urban legality. Such measures are provided for in Decree-Law No. 555/99 of December 16, in its most recent version, approved by Decree-Law No. 10/2024 of January 8, in particular in articles 102 to 109. The most severe sanction is the demolition of buildings if it is concluded that they are not eligible for licensing or legalisation”.