Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 25^th October 2023

Good morning, I would like to start by thanking KissFm radio, particular Owen Gee the host of Solid Gold Sunday, for giving me 7 minutes air time last Sunday to cover the approach of Depression Bernhard.

The timing was important as it enabled us to provide valuable information and advice on action to take in the period leading up to the storms arrival and once it started affecting communities. The topics covered were: avoiding parking your car under trees, securing or taking indoors out door items that could be damaged during the storm, action if caught in floods in your car and various ways to protect ones property.

I hope this message got across to as many people as possible, given that the storm lived up to forecasts with the red rainstorm warning being issued, albeit at the last minute, for the Algarve, with over 170 occurrences, a large number of fallen trees some damaging cars and flooding particularly in Loule and Faro. Winds reached over 100 km/h and rainfall exceeded 80 mm in several places just what had been forecast. It was bad enough in the Algarve, but over the border in Spain the situation was far worse.

Despite all these warnings and advice from both the ANEPC and IPMA, it did not stop a trail of events taking place in Monchique, with photos being published on social media showing a runner in an area where there was clearly heavy rain and very strong winds – judged from the video. I really question with the severe weather conditions about to take place illustrated by the damage actually caused, the event was not postponed, to avoid the risk to participants.

There will certainly be more storms of this nature over the winter period and we ask people to follow the advice of the authorities and organisations planning outdoor activities including sports events to act responsibly – after all it is in everyone’s interest to do so and avoid the emergency services having to place themselves in danger in rescuing people, in situations that could have been avoided.

A reminder that this years A Terra Treme National Earthquake Awareness Exercise, Organised by the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority will take place this year on Tuesday 14th November 2023 at 11.14 Hrs. Safe Communities Portugal has supported this exercise each year in a number of ways and will do so again this year. This initiative is part of the activities that form part of the National Strategy for Preventive Civil Protection and aims to empower the population to know how to act before, during and after an earthquake, sensitizing citizens to the fact of living in a risk society, and challenging themselves to get involved in the process of building safer and more resilient communities.

We encourage everyone to get involved by taking part in this short exercise which takes just one minute to perform by registering your details here. https://www.aterratreme.pt/

We wish you all a Safe week ahead

News

Environmentalists ask President of Republic to enforce the Basic Climate Law

Lisbon, 24 Oct 2023 (Lusa) – A group of environmental associations today asked the President of the Portuguese Republic to enforce the Climate Basic Law, approved at the end of 2021, but still without any article respected.

The “inaction of the Portuguese State is especially reprehensible at a time of evident worsening climate urgency”, warn the 13 environmental associations in a letter to Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, to which the Lusa agency had access.

“The Climate Base Law constitutes several positive obligations in the legal sphere of the State, compliance with which is absolutely fundamental to the success of climate action in Portugal”, consider environmentalists, who accuse the State of not complying with legislation that it itself approved.

At issue is the delay in publishing several measures, which should have been completed by February 2023, such as the “creation of carbon budgets, which should guide national politics and economy”, the “creation of the Climate Action Portal”, a “Climate Impact Assessment Report of Current Legislation”, an analysis of public assets, the “climate risk of financial assets” or the “revision of the legal regime for hydrocarbons”, among other issues.

“To date, none of these instruments have been created, which places the Portuguese State in effective non-compliance with the execution duties resulting from the Basic Law”, warn the environmentalists.

The absence of sectoral plans to apply the basic law is another criticism made by the associations, which ask the President for “intervention with the Government and the Assembly of the Republic” on this topic.

“The lack of implementation of the Climate Base Law constitutes not only a failure of the Rule of Law and representative democracy, but also a violation of the fundamental rights of Portuguese citizens”, can be read in the letter addressed to Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

The letter is signed by the Last Resort Association; Citizen Academy; Environment in Uraniferous Zones (AZU); Santa Iria da Azóia Heritage, Environmental and Cultural Defence Association (ADPAC); Dunas Livres Association; Climate Centre; Extinction Rebellion; PELO TEJO Movement (Protejo); Anti-Transportation of Live Animals Platform (PATAV); Quercus (National Association for Nature Conservation); Network for Degrowth; Association of Marine Sciences and Cooperation (SCIAENA)) and SOS Racismo Porto.

World “in the wrong direction” to stop deforestation: global loss of forest area increases in 2022

The annual “Assessment of the Declaration on Forests” report says that global deforestation increased by 4% in 2022 and that the world is not on track to meet the commitment outlined for 2030.

Non-governmental organizations and researchers warned this Tuesday in a report that the world is not fulfilling its promise to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030, as the global loss of forest area increased in 2022.

Leaders from more than 100 countries and territories, which represent the vast majority of the world’s forests, committed, in 2021, to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030.

But the annual “Assessment of the Declaration on Forests” report revealed that global deforestation increased by 4% last year and that the world is not on track to meet the commitment outlined.

“The goal for 2030 does not exist just to look good. It is essential to maintain a livable climate for humanity,” highlighted Erin Matson, one of the document’s main authors.

Forests are essential habitats for animal life, important regulators of the global climate by absorbing carbon emissions from human activities.

Last year, deforestation was more than 20% higher than it should have been to fulfill the commitment made by leaders. Around 6.6 million hectares of forest were lost, most of which was primary forest in tropical regions.

The assessment, led by more than twenty environmental organizations and research bodies, also warns that forest degradation continues to be a serious problem.

The term degradation refers to a wide range of damages, including forest fires and loss of biodiversity, that affect the overall condition of a forest.

 

Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 18^th October 2023

Good morning. Well, if anyone doubted that autumn had arrived, the weather over the last two days from the passing of from Depression Babet, has made up for that.

As is often the case, however, the majority of the rains fell mainly in the Centre and north of the mainland, being less so in the south, where rain is badly need. However the region did experience some heavy showers particularly in Faro, as described by Mike Evans in his Algarve report. To alleviate the drought situation there is a need for persistent rain, probably over several weeks to have any real impact, so that the soil is properly saturated.

As I write this a further period of rain and winds is forecast for 19^th/20^th with: heavy rain, strong wind and rough seas warnings in place. However this will make little long term difference, the main immediate impact being isolated localised flooding and damaged caused by fallen trees.

ANEPC asks people to be aware of the possibility of falling branches and trees, as a result of stronger wind. Safe Communities suggests therefore to avoid parking your car under trees particularly if the tree is looking in poor condition, if at all possible. With heavy rain the tree is more susceptible to damage, either the possibility of being uprooted or falling branches.

Due to the weather condition we have been posting regular forecasts, warnings and events on our new Safe Communities Portugal Protection against Natural Disasters Facebook Group page. This provides important information and advice which, if followed, will help keep people safe by reducing the impact of weather hazards such as the very high winds in some places. We are pleased to announce therefore that in the first 100 days since it was launched the number of members currently stands at just over 2600, with around 10-15 people joining each day at present! Needless to say we are very pleased with this progress which, is a reflection of interest being shown in the topics we are covering.

Often people fall for scams through being a victim to fraudulent websites – but how do you tell id a website is fraudulent? One of our Facebook followers kindly sent this very useful advice earlier this week.  He explains “When the website opens, look in the search bar, it will show the name of the site, (the URL). Just to the left of it, is a symbol (in Safari and Google) it is a lock, which tells you that the site has an encrypted connection). Click this lock. On the small panel that opens is a button marked ‘Show Certificate’ or “Connection is Secure” followed by “Certificate is Valid”. Click this and you will see who the site is registered to. You can check if the certificate is in date. If a site looks a bit off then check this certificate and then if – and only if – you believe the site to be genuine, then enter the site. Cyber criminals are really clever at cloning sites but the certificate should tell the truth”.

Lastly a return to the weather. It appears from the warnings and weather maps that following an improvement today 18^th, that the weather will generally deteriorate on 19^th/20^th October, with more warnings at orange level, with rough seas with waves that could reach up to 14 metres in height in some areas of the west coast and wind gusts up to 110 km/h, especially on the coast and in the highlands. As such it is very important to monitor the warnings in place and the advice to the public.

With that our team wishes you a safe and nice week ahead.

News

Civil Protection records around 400 incidents across the country due to the weather

394 incidents were recorded, of which 142 in the municipality of Lisbon and 42 in the Setúbal Peninsula. The incidents are mainly related to falling trees, falling structures, cleaning roads and flooding.

The National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority recorded 394 events related to bad weather between 8pm 16^thand 7am 17^th October 2023, the majority in Greater Lisbon and the Setúbal Peninsula, which did not cause any casualties.

No one can guarantee that there is no terrorism in any country in the world”

President Marcelo was in the country this Tuesday where all the attention was focused due to an attack, which caused the death of two people. Despite this “context of concern”, the head of state states that he “learned” what happened and Europe, in particular, has structures prepared to prevent and act in the face of terrorist acts.

The first day of the Portuguese head of state’s visit to Belgium was marked by a terrorist attack that killed two people. Without wanting to “speculate”, President Marcelo highlights that “unpredictability” is one of the characteristics of terrorism, but assures that “the structures in Europe” and in Portugal are “prepared to prevent and try to confront” these situations.

Marcelo was already in Brussels, for a state visit to the country, when it was news around the world that two people had been shot by an individual in the heart of Brussels. From the outset, in a note published on the Presidency’s website, “he expressed his solidarity with King Philippe of the Belgians and King Charles Gustav of Sweden, and his condemnation of the attack (…) which killed innocent Swedish citizens”.

By Tuesday, “normality” appears to have returned to the city, he highlighted in statements to journalists, with “very quick and effective action of the Belgian authorities”.

Still, he highlighted, “it is clear that everyone is aware that one of the characteristics of terrorism is its unpredictability. (…) That was the word he wanted to give: no one can guarantee that there is no terrorism in any country in the world.”

Now “what is certain is that the structures in Europe, and clearly in Portugal, are naturally prepared to prevent and try to face, as far as possible, this situation”.

 

Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 11^th October 2023

Good morning – Well the hot weather and heatwave continues. However, it is not just the mainland but Madeira as well.

The record temperature in October in Madeira has been broken twice within four days, as a result of the persistence of very high maximum temperatures. On October 5th a new record in October had been recorded in Madeira, 34.7°C in Funchal/Meteorological Observatory, but it is now surpassed throughout the Region, where for the first time in the month of October a temperature of 36.4ºC was recorded, the new absolute record for this month in Madeira.

The Archipelago islands maintain Orange Warning until October 13 at 00h00. Since midnight of October 4th that the south coast has been under orange warning for hot weather, a very unusual situation.

There have also been several rural fires in Madeira the latest being on the slopes of the parish of Arco da Calheta, adjacent to Paul da Serra. The ICNF has informed that “the use of all the walking routes in the Rabaçal area are prohibited. Anyone travelling to Madeira or in Madeira should follow the warning and take care. The temperatures are very high and with the steep hills, in the centre part of the island fires can be very difficult to suppress resources on the ground.

It is difficult to determine what will be the final outcome of Hamas attack on Israel. Should it develop into a larger regional escalation involving other neighbouring countries, is a frightening thought, with the potential for a far greater loss of life to what we have already seen in the last few days, not to mention the displacement of hundreds and thousands of civilians. Coming on the back of the Ukraine/ Russia war and recent major disasters such as recent earthquakes in the far east and extensive flooding, which have already cost the lives of tens of thousands of people, this latest disaster is something the world does not need.

Portugal has acted swiftly in trying to protect its citizens in Israel by arranging flights and it is understood that nearly 200 Portuguese have expressed the wish to be removed using the special flights arranged by the Portuguese government. There will be other countries also making similar arrangements. At least 15 airlines have suspended or cancelled flights to Israel including TAP. It goes without saying that anyone planning holidays in the region, should very carefully check the situation which could change suddenly, should the situation escalate.

Returning to the weather! This week started without major changes, with unusually high temperatures from north to south of mainland Portugal. However, a change in the weather is expected within a few days, which will result in a situation more in line with the time of year. Here’s the forecast! Very unusual for an October and the middle of a climatological autumn, taking into account that this very hot and stable environment is more typical of the summer season than the one we are in now.

On Friday 13th, possibly from the second half of the day, not only is a thermal drop expected, which will be very noticeable, but also denser, low-altitude cloud cover. The winds will blow predominantly from the West and Southwest (stronger in areas where rain is expected) and the perception of an Atlantic front approaching will be increasingly noticeable. This system is expected to dump locally persistent rain of low to moderate intensity in the Minho region, occasionally heavy.

As the hours go by, probably for a good part of the day on Saturday 14th, the precipitation will spread to more regions, such as the Porto Metropolitan Area, Aveiro Region , districts of Vila Real and Viseu, Northeast Trás-os-Montes , Coimbra, Guarda and in parts of the districts of Leiria, Lisbon and Santarém.  Whether or not this will reach the south of the country remains to be seen, but do not hold your breath. Even if it does so, we need plenty of rain to saturate the soil to have any impact on the drought situation.

The amount of water stored in river basins is showing a steep decline in some areas and is well below historic averages in the south of the country. It is more important than ever to conserve water at this time. We all have a part to play. Safe Communities has a feature on this topic this Thursday 12^th October in the Portugal Resident.

Have a good week ahead,

News

More than 17 thousand drivers caught speeding in seven days

Lisbon, 10 Oct 2023 (Lusa) – More than 17 thousand drivers were caught speeding during the seven days of the “Travel without rush” campaign and around 80% were fined through the National Road Safety Authority’s radars, it was released today.

The data is part of the “Travel without rush” campaign run by the National Road Safety Authority (ANSR), National Republican Guard and Public Security Police, which took place between October 3rd and 9th, with the aim of alerting drivers to risks of driving at excessive speed, as it is one of the main causes of accidents on the roads.

In a joint statement, those three entities indicate that 4.1 million vehicles were monitored using radar speed control, 94.8% of which by the National Speed ​​Control System (SINCRO), under the responsibility of the National Road Safety Authority.

Of the 4.1 million vehicles inspected, 17.4 thousand were traveling at excessive speed, and of these 3.3 thousand were detected by the security forces’ radars and 14.1 thousand by ANSR’s SINCRO.

The PSP, GNR and ANSR also report that, during this campaign, 2,386 accidents were recorded, resulting in 10 fatalities, 50 serious injuries and 733 minor injuries.

This campaign is part of the 2023 National Inspection Plan and has been carried out annually by ANSR, GNR and PSP since 2020, with themes defined based on European recommendations established for each year.

 

Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 4^th October 2023

Good morning. Once again the focus is on the high temperatures currently being experienced. This has several implications: firstly contributing to the drought situation; secondly contributing to rural fires and thirdly affecting the health of people particularly those who are vulnerable.

It is still too early to consider that Portugal is going through a heat wave because, technically, to do so requires maximum temperatures to be at least 5º C above average for six consecutive days for the time of year, but everything indicates that term can be used in next two days. But there’s more: thermometers will still reach higher values ​​at the end of the week and indications are for 35C in Lisbon – remember this is October.

The anomaly is up to seven, eight or nine degrees. We have temperatures above average for this time of the year and this will continue in the coming days. For example in Bragança temperatures reached 31.4º C on Sunday. “It is well above average, because the normal temperature for this time of year is 21º C”.

Now the drought situation: comparing water storage at the end of September 2023 with the storage averages for the month of September in previous years (1990/91 to 2021/22), a worrying situation is observed. Most river basins have storage levels below historical averages for this month. The basins of Vouga (68.4%), Sado (37.1%), Mira (31.3%), Arade (27.2%), Ribeiras do Barlavento (7.8%) and Ribeiras do Sotavento (28 .2%) are particularly below average.

Along with Portugal, neighbouring Spain is in an even more critical situation, which could have more serious consequences on the national territory, in the medium and long term. Scarce water resources and lack of significant precipitation have seriously affected several regions. However, Portugal continues to feel the impacts of the imminent drought. In particular, the Algarve region, for example, faces structural problems of lack of water, and the lack of investment in sustainable solutions is a cause for concern.

It is important to conserve water and we have produced tips how this can be done which we publish regularly on this Facebook page. Firstly is to turn off the tap while you are not using the water; secondly during your hygiene, while brushing your teeth, washing your hands, hair or body. In the shower while soaping or shampooing, the tap can be turned off and if in the kitchen, if you have to wash the dishes by hand, do it without running water, use the dishwashing sink and/or a double bowl if you have one . These are just three of the basics. We will be including these on our website shortly.

The other implication is rural fires. As we have repeated stressed before it is not the weather that causes fires, it is mainly humans. However, dry and hot weather with accompanying winds certainly impact how easily fires can ignite, as well as their intensity and the speed at which they can spread. We have seen this in the last week with two large fires one in Viseu and the second in Aljezur. In respect to the second, the metrological warning signs were there the day before so it is not surprising to us that there was a fire. This is an example of studying weather forecasts and government warnings so that you are prepared.

Thirdly is the health risk from such high temperatures and again the effects on those who are vulnerable. The risks are regularly published by DGS as well as Civil Protection, together with advice to help stay safe so it is important to follow these. They are also on our website. These include trying to keep the heat out of your home, closing the blinds or shutters and keep air circulating inside the house; keeping the house as cool as possible and avoid using the oven. Other tips include: drink water or fresh, sugar-free fruit juices and avoid drinking alcohol; avoiding direct exposure to the sun, especially between 11 am and 5 pm and wearing loose (cotton) clothing that keeps most of your body covered, as well as a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses. Again the full list can be found on our website.

News

Activists block traffic on the Second Circular in Lisbon

Lisbon, 03 Oct 2023 (Lusa) – A group of young activists from the Climáximo movement today temporarily blocked traffic on the Second Circular, in Lisbon, next to the Galp offices, in a protest against the use of fossil fuels.

According to the movement, at around 9am today, ten activists sat on the floor of the Second Circular, next to the Lisbon Towers, while two others hung with ropes from the pedestrian bridge.

Videos and photographs of the protest, which are circulating on social media, show demonstrators in protest, holding signs calling for the end of fossil fuels, with phrases such as “They are destroying everything you love” or “Governments and companies have declared war on society and the planet.”

During the protest, which lasted a few minutes, the protesters managed to block traffic in the Benfica-Airport direction.

“Several activists were taken from the site by the PSP, while firefighters were called to remove the hanging activists,” says the Climáximo movement, in a statement sent to newsrooms.

The spokesperson for the action, Noah Zino, recalled today that “2021 emissions condemned nine million people to death” and that “every two days, emissions from Portugal alone kill more than the fires in Pedrógão”.

“Governments and companies have known for decades about the destruction and death of the climate crisis, and have chosen to continue burning fossil fuels, despite there being cheaper and safer alternatives available,” the spokesperson added.

Last week, climate activists took advantage of a conference where the Minister of the Environment, Duarte Cordeiro, was present, at whom they threw green paint and, the following day, they threw red paint at the facade of the FIL building, where an aviation conference was taking place.