Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 29th May 2024
Good morning. I hope everyone living in rural areas who need to clean their land has done so, as the fire danger in coming days is the by far the highest so far this year.
In areas where fuel is available, weather plays a pivotal role in determining the risk of fires. Fire danger indices are used to understand how the flammability of a specific region changes in response to weather conditions, and to evaluate the potential spread and intensity of a fire. These indices are calculated from parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, precipitation, the moisture content of potential fuels, and the prevailing weather conditions over the preceding days to months.
In some areas, such as Castelo Branco on 31st we may see “extreme levels” in indicators which determine the intensity of potential fires by combining the rate of fire spread with the amount of fuel being consumed. This is very important to be aware of as when levels reach 50 or more this means that any fires that get hold will be difficult to supress by traditional means of firefighting, and typically are only done so with the change of weather, such as reduced winds or precipitation.
Turning to water shortages, it was revealed earlier this week, that in the last ten years, around 840 million euros of already treated and unbilled water were wasted by the distribution network, according to June edition of the magazine Deco Proteste, based on data from the regulator ERSAR. In 2022, 162 million cubic meters of water were wasted, warns Deco Proteste, adding up to 88 million euros of unbilled water in one year and around 840 million euros in ten years, according to data from the Water and Water Services Regulatory Authority. Waste (ERSAR).
Alerting to the urgent need to rehabilitate the water supply infrastructure at national level, which is aging and subject to increasing water losses and supply failures, it was found that 87 municipalities, of the 278 municipalities on the continent, with increases in real losses of water, and 161 with reduction. So when the government and municipalities consider longer term solution such as desalination for instance, this will be of limited use, should the water subsequently we wasted en-route to users through leaking pipes!
Lastly a thank you for all those who visited us at the São Brás Museu do Traje, Spring Fair 2024 held last Sunday. Great weather and company.
Plenty of visitors and many enquiries covering land cleaning, wells, crime prevention, work of Safe Communities, emergency medical card, contact information for emergencies and sharing of experiences. We thank our team, Jane, Antonia, Mike and Karen and David for their help and support. We also thank the organisers for such a well-attended and enjoyable community event.
Turning to crime prevention. PSP has announced an increase in burglaries inside residences through deception. Preferred targets are elderly, or especially vulnerable, people who live alone or in isolated homes. Suspects try to trick victims through a cover story to gain access. Don’t open the door to strangers, don’t be misled by the presence of children and have emergency contacts in easy-accessible places. If you notice anything unusual contact PSP immediately! For those in rural areas call the GNR or in an emergency 112
Our team at Safe Communities wish you all a safe and happy week ahead.
News
Russian hackers attack in Spain during Zelensky’s visit. Portugal could be the next target
Pro-Putin ‘hacktivists’ illegally accessed the websites of the regional Parliament and the Madrid Metro, as well as video surveillance camera systems, during the Ukrainian president’s visit to that country. Portugal may suffer similar attacks
At least three groups of ‘hacktivists’ defending Vladimir Putin’s government claimed computer attacks in Spain during Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit last Monday.
On Tuesday Russian President Vladimir Putin considered that the only legitimate power in Ukraine now belongs to the Ukrainian parliament and not the President, claiming that Volodymyr Zelensky’s term ended on May 20.
“The Ukrainian Constitution provides for the extension of powers, but only for the Rada [Parliament], and does not say anything about the extension of the President’s powers,” Putin said at the end of a visit to Uzbekistan.
Putin acknowledged that Ukrainian law prohibits holding presidential elections while martial law is in force, but said this does not mean that the functions of the current head of state are automatically expanded.
“The Constitution [of Ukraine] says nothing about this,” he said, insisting that “in fact, presidential functions have passed to the head of the Ukrainian Parliament.”
GNR inspected around 1.9 million people at maritime borders in six months
Lisbon, May 27 (Lusa) – The GNR inspected around 1.9 million people at maritime borders between October 29 and the end of April, mainly for tourist visits, the corporation announced today.
The Republican National Guard today took stock of the six months in which it assumed responsibility for controlling maritime and land borders with the extinction of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) on October 29, 2023.
In a statement, the GNR states that, in six months, around 1.9 million people who entered and left the country on 8,100 vessels were controlled, with special emphasis on cruise ships, with the ports of Lisbon and Funchal recording the largest number of entries.
The GNR also reports that, between October 29, 2023 and the end of April this year, it carried out more than 1.1 million administrative procedures at border posts related to the issuance of visas, licenses to come ashore and licenses to access to the international zone.
In the same period, the GNR’s territorial immigration inspection centers carried out more than 300 operations throughout the country, aimed especially at the agriculture, industry and services sectors, during which they inspected the status of around 9,500 foreigners.
According to the GNR, the districts where the most operations were carried out were Lisbon, Porto, Faro and Santarém, with “special priority” being given to entries at the Vila Formoso and Caia borders, where several violations of the foreigner’s law were recorded.
The main administrative offenses detected by the Guard soldiers were related to the lack of declaration of entry into national territory (324).
The GNR also detained six people for illegally staying in Portugal.