Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 23rd August 2023.
From floods in Chili, British Colombia, to wild fire in Greece, Tenerife and Canada to name but a few, it appears that we are seeing the impacts of extreme weather from many different countries at present.
We have been covering some of these events mainly in our Safe Communities Portugal Protection against Natural Disasters Group, as it is important to remember that these event do not stop at national borders or within regions, so the weather conditions say in the USA or Canada can be replicated elsewhere including Portugal. What can make a difference however is the risk reduction measures that are in place and how that can reduce the impact, such as the number of casualties. An example I would give of this is the reduction in risk by the cleaning of land, and how that helps reduce fires reaching properties.
Simple things like understanding more about the risk of fires, how they can burn with greater intensity and how they spread, are all things that we should be more aware off, simply because that means we are more prepared and can take the appropriate action accordingly. It is also important that children are aware so they themselves can see the warning signs, perhaps ahead of their parents.
When travelling overseas it is important to also be aware of the risks, and the contact points in case of emergencies. Put this on the check list before you go on holiday and if you are staying in a rural property ensure that it affords some protection from fires.
In the case of rural fires in Portugal there have been xx over the last xx days, which are facilitated by weather extremes but nearly all have a human cause, as the minister of International administration said yesterday, over two thirds of these are caused by negligence; namely not following the rules that are in place.
In response to the recent fires, 300 more operatives have been made available and pair of amphibious Fire Boss aircrafts – will be, until October 31st, pre-positioned in Portugal, in Castelo Branco.
We are now in a heatwave that will last for the next few days and on Mondays 33 weather stations registered temperatures of over 40C, increasing to xx yesterday. Of course it is much hotter in the sun, so everyone needs to be careful by not over exercising, and in particular those who undertake physical work outdoors. Take regular beaks, try and work in shaded areas if possible and of course drink water regularly 1.5 litres a day recommended by the health authority, to avoid dehydration. Most important is care of young children and avoiding direct exposure to the sun.
Communicating key messages about being prepared is extremely important and I would like to that Owen Gee KissFm for allowing us air time on Sunday mornings to do precisely this. Feed-back is very positive and I hope that people have become more Fire Wise, in part, from listening to the advice given. We are now in our 13th year on Solid Gold Sunday and we thank those for listening in.
I mentioned earlier our new Facebook group and am pleased to announce as of this morning we have no less than 2000 members in a period of just 45 days since it was launched! Our Safe Communities team are delighted with this response as apart from the numbers, members are showing great interest in the subject of preparedness, which is the key message that government is trying to get across at present. Also encouraging is members sharing their own experiences and knowledge which is fundamental in developing greater resilience to natural hazards. So a big thank you.
Our team wishes you a good week ahead.
News:
Fire caused damage of 5.5 ME and destroyed 5,315 hectares in Proença-a-Nova
Proença-a-Nova, Castelo Branco, 22 Aug 2023 (Lusa) – The fire that broke out on the 4th in the municipality of Castelo Branco and which progressed to Proença-a-Nova caused damages of 5.5 million euros in the latter municipality and destroyed 5,315 hectares of forest.
“Despite all the work we have done, this fire affected an area of 5,315 hectares which, after a survey carried out by the municipal services, totaled damages worth 5,550,297 euros”, announced the mayor of Proença-a- New, Joao Lobo.
According to this mayor of the Castelo Branco district, the calculated value is divided into three fundamental areas: needs for post-fire emergency stabilization interventions – 2,683,576 euros, plus intervention on paved roads – 1,696,448 euros.
The affected municipal equipment totals 169,306 euros and private property, 1,000,966 euros.
For now, the executive informed the Chamber, on Monday, of the 6th Amendment to the Budget and Major Options of the Plan, “a new item having been created for immediate support to the population in the amount of 90 thousand euros”.
The municipal executive also announced that he will send the request for support to the Government to operationalize all the expenses presented.
Among the losses, there is the investment necessary to recover the affected infrastructure, to control erosion, to treat and protect slopes, to prevent contamination and silting and to recover water lines.
Public infrastructure, such as signs for pedestrian routes, enduro tracks, hang gliding tracks, via ferrata, road signs, containment of damage to biodiversity and private property, including animals, fruit trees, irrigation pipes , haystacks and agricultural attachments, utensils, agricultural tools and machinery, animal feed are also accounted for.
João Lobo highlighted the importance of cleaning the 100 meters of the protection strip for population settlements and the pioneering spirit of the municipality of Proença-a-Nova in creating regulations for the conversion of forest areas into agricultural areas in 2018, for fuel management areas in the 100 meters around the population centers.
Currently, the municipality has carried out eight interventions of “Condomínios de Aldeia” and has a further eight operations in the pipeline.
“We still have approved four AIGP (Integrated Landscape Management Areas), which total an area of about 7,200 hectares”, underlined the mayor.
The fire that broke out on the 4th in the municipality of Castelo Branco progressed to the municipality of Proença-a-Nova and entered the resolution phase after two days.
According to the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF), the rural fires registered in Odemira and Castelo Branco in early August represent more than half of the total area burned in Portugal in 2023.
According to the most recent statistics from the ICNF, which account for the first half of August, Portugal has registered since January 1 of this year 27,802 hectares of burned area and 6,085 rural fires, which translates into the second lowest value in number of fires and fourth in terms of area burned since 2013.
The fire that broke out in São Teotónio, in the municipality of Odemira, on August 5, is the biggest recorded in Portugal this year, consuming at least 7,530 hectares of land, while the fire registered in Sarzedas, municipality of Castelo Branco, also this month, led to a total of 6,553 hectares of burned area.