The Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 27th March 2024
by Mike Evans
A very good day to you all whether you are reading this from the Algarve or farther afield. We start this report by highlighting the latest road safety awareness scheme which coincides with the Easter period, run by the GNR and PSP. “Operation Easter 2024” starts this Monday and will run until the 1st April it will happen throughout the continental territory, through the intensification of patrolling and carrying out awareness-raising and inspection actions .
This action aims to: combat crime, contribute to reducing road accidents, regularise traffic and support all citizens, providing them with the Easter festivities and their travels, safely.
This season is characterised by the reunion of families in their regions of origin and, as it corresponds to the school holiday period, a significant increase in road traffic on Portuguese roads is expected. In this sense, the Guard, through the military from the Territorial Commands and Traffic Detachments, will have the “Easter 2024” operation underway, which aims to ensure the safety and protection of people, which goes beyond road inspection and the effort is also aimed at festivities, their surroundings, residential and commercial areas, as well as the most critical road traffic routes. The inspection period for the greatest road patrol effort, on the most critical roads, will be between the beginning of March 28th and April 1st, a period when the highest volume of traffic is expected.
The GNR advises attentive, cautious and defensive driving, so that the festive period can be spent safely. To travel safely this festive season, GNR advises: adapting your speed to weather conditions, the condition of the road and the volume of road traffic; avoid manoeuvres that could result in traffic obstruction or that, in any way, could lead to accidents, maintaining attentive and defensive driving.
For all information regarding traffic congestion and alternatives, please contact the GNR National Integrated Operational Management Center, 24 hours a day, on 213 217 000.
Water Shortage in the region is “the worst ever” even after rain says APA
The vice-president of the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), José Pimenta Machado, said on Friday, the 22nd, that the Algarve is “in the worst situation ever” in relation to the lack of water, even after the rains of the first Months of the year.
“It is true that the rains in January and February brought some water to the Algarve reservoirs and that is good news, but we are worse off than in the past and we are in the worst situation ever in the region”, said the official.
José Pimenta Machado was speaking at the inauguration of an exhibition dedicated to World Water Day, which also marks the launch of the National Museum and Water Resources Archive project, to be installed in an old paper factory on the Caima River, in Valmaior, Albergaria-a- Velha (Aveiro). Although the country currently has, on average, reservoirs at 87%, he said, problems persist on the Alentejo coast and in the Algarve, and in the future the forecast is that there will be less water, warned the vice-president of APA.
For the person responsible, first of all, it is necessary to act to have more efficient water management, without prejudice to moving forward with new dams.
“It doesn’t make any sense to have a network in which 50% or 60% of the water is lost”, he criticised, arguing that “the first priority must be given to the efficiency of the systems”. It’s just that it’s not enough to have more dams if they don’t have water and he exemplified: “we have to increase water reserves, but today we have three dams that are still at less than 20%, two in the Algarve and one in Alentejo”.
In the particular case of the Algarve, the solution for the vice-president of the APA is the desalination of seawater, which is the other bet that has to be made.
“We are going to build the first large desalination plant in the Algarve area, in Albufeira , and it is so important for the region”, highlighted José Pimenta Machado.
The leader recalled that Portugal was the first European country to have a desalination plant, on the island of Porto Santo, in the Madeira region, which “works well” and is “very important” for the island.
The Algarve has been on alert due to drought since February 5th, with the Government having approved a set of measures to restrict consumption, namely a 15% reduction in the urban sector, including tourism, and a 25% reduction in agriculture.
In addition to these measures, there are others such as combating losses in supply networks, the use of treated water to irrigate green spaces, streets and golf courses or the suspension of the granting of titles for the use of water resources.
The Government has already admitted to increasing the level of restrictions, declaring a state of environmental emergency or calamity, if the measures now implemented are insufficient to address water scarcity in the region.
Man arrested in Faro for drug trafficking
During last weekend, the PSP arrested a man for drug trafficking in downtown Faro, following an operation aimed at that area of the city, that police force reported today.
In a statement, the PSP said that the suspect was “detected selling drugs to a citizen, and was promptly approached”, with the agents later finding that the man had more drugs in his possession, which is why he was detained.
After a home search, a total of 366 individual doses of hashish, money suspected to have come from this activity, as well as products used for the preparation, packaging and sale of this drug were seized.
Man in wheelchair shot in Olhão
A man was shot this morning 24 March in Olhão, a source from the Public Security Police ( PSP ) revealed, noting that the attacker is on the run.
The man, “apparently of limited mobility”, was shot on Rua do Capelo, in Olhão, at 1:50 am in the right lower limb, according to a source from the PSP national directorate, who has no indication whether the victim was hospitalised.
According to the same source, the perpetrator “is unknown” and fled.The case was forwarded to the Judiciary Police, the PSP said.
Drone finds missing man in the Algarve
The National Republican Guard (GNR) located an elderly man who had been missing since Tuesday, March 21, in Vila do Bispo, in the district of Faro. According to a statement shared on Facebook, the octogenarian man “was located with the support of the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) team, known as drones, and the use of kinesthetic binomials.”
The man was found conscious and did not require hospital treatment. The GNR warns that the disappearance of people “is a phenomenon to which the GNR has been particularly attentive, not only due to the effort made to allow the location of missing people, but above all to prevent this type of occurrence, raising awareness of the problem”
British runner suffers attempted rape in Algarve
A British ultra-trail runner has described the horror she experienced after a man tried to rape her while she was training in the Algarve.
Alison Walker shared the tale of her horrific ordeal on her Instagram page, where she explained that a man ran out from behind some bushes and pushed her to the ground while running between Albufeira and Vilamoura. The man then tried to remove her shorts as the 36-year-old athlete offered up her valuables in a bid to stop him, she said. Coincidentally, her Garmin watch ended up playing a crucial role in stopping the attack, as its ‘crash alert’ (designed to alert close contacts in the case of an emergency, such as someone falling down) was activated when she was pushed to the ground.
In a desperate bid to scare off the attacker, Alison told him that her watch had alerted police, which led the man to flee while also stealing her watch. The Malaysian-born runner believes that the attack may have been “premeditated” as she spotted a piece of tarpaulin and a water bottle nearby. Alison was quick to praise the GNR.“The GNR were absolutely ace though, could not have faulted them. They were so quick and there were about 4-5 cars and vans and a cute dog to find the culprit. He’s still out and about so…,” wrote the athlete, who holds the record solo time for a 300km route called the Smog Graham Round which features the highest points in all 32 boroughs of London.
Alison has since published a new post on her Instagram page thanking everyone who has expressed their support.
“Running for me has been an outlet, and a (sic) bloody love running. To almost have that taken away is unthinkable,” she said.
Alison Walker advised runners to take care when training along the so-called “honey farm loop” and praised Portugal’s GNR police for their swift response.
And finally to end this report some news of a postponement of the Festival of the Sea in Albufeira. The third edition of “Albufeira SeaFest”, which was scheduled for the 28th to 30th of March, was postponed to the 4th, 5th and 6th of April, due to the weather conditions predicted by IPMA – Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera.
The event, which will take place again at Praça and Praia dos Pescadores, starts on April 4th (Thursday), at 3 pm, with artistic, recreational and educational activities aimed at younger people.
Inflatables, building using recycled materials, “Peixe Fred” (15h00), workshop “Learn to Recycle” (16h00), the Municipality’s educational program “Brincar Seguro Correndo Riscos” (17h00) and an aerobics class (18h00) These are the activities that are part of the program for the first day of the event.
Czech music starts at 6:00 p.m., with a concert by Quiassaca & Wavy, followed by Pachá, at 6:00 p.m., and Subtil, at 9:00 p.m. The night ends with the sound of Expensive Soul, who take the stage at 10:30 pm.
On the second day, April 5th, sport will be in the spotlight. At 9:00 am, the first surfing lesson takes place, at 10:30 am, there are skateboarding classes and sports workshops and at 11:00 am the Soul Dance Association takes place.
After lunch time, at 3:30 pm, there is an Inline demonstration and surfing activities on the sand. SkatePark, located in Praça dos Pescadores, once again hosts Inline Cash 4 Tricks (4:30 p.m.). The concerts start at 5:15 pm, with Don Lui. This is followed by Carlos Braga (18:00), Ehliu (19:00) and No time to Waste (21:00). Hybrid Theory tops the bill and debuts at Albufeira Sea Fest, at 10:30 pm.
Albufeira SeaFest ends on April 6th, with the GNR concert. The Portuguese pop rock band with over 40 years of career will perform at 10:30 pm, after names like Os Naira (6:00 pm), Daniel Vargas (7:00 pm) and Bem & The Pirates (9:00 pm).
The program includes activities such as the Construction of a Hotel for Insects (10:30 am), in partnership with the Butterfly Conservation Center of Portugal, “The Butterflies of Albufeira” (3:30 pm), Skate Cash 4 Tricks (4:30 pm), the painting class with Mary Barry (17:00), and much more.
The event is organised by the Municipality of Albufeira in partnership with the Parish Council of Albufeira and Olhos de Água and entry is free.
Have a safe and secure Easter break wherever you may be and if you are travelling please be careful.