Lisbon City Council closes tunnels due to risk of flooding
The Lisbon City Council ordered the closure of road tunnels in the city, in order to prevent drivers from being closed in the event of sudden floods, as happened on Wednesday night.
“We already ordered the closure of the tunnels today and we advise people not to go out tonight”, declared Carlos Moedas, mayor of Lisbon, this Thursday night, in an interview with Sic Notícias.
Asked about the decision to close the road tunnels not having been taken on Wednesday night, given the heavy rain and thunderstorm that hit the city, the mayor clarified: “we ordered them to close, we followed the protocol, but we had a completely extreme event🇧🇷
Coins added that the decision was taken “around 22/22.30 hours” on Wednesday but, officially, “it was too late”, because the floods occurred “in minutes”🇧🇷
“When the Municipal Police arrived, in 4/5 minutes, the tunnels were already full”, stressed the president of the municipality, reiterating the appeal for drivers “not to risk”. And he exemplified with situations that occurred the night before, in which there were those who did not follow the PSP recommendations and entered tunnels when it was no longer safe to do so.