Three tunnels in Lisbon closed for prevention due to bad weather
Three road tunnels on Avenida João XXI, Campo Grande and Entrecampos, in Lisbon, were closed on Saturday night as a precaution against bad weather, the director of the Municipal Civil Protection Service revealed this Saturday to the Lusa agency.
The decision was taken “considering that an orange warning is starting at 00:00 and, considering that the last time we had an orange warning there was that unexpected phenomenon of aggravation to red, just for the sake of prevention, we closed these three tunnels,” said Margarida Castro Martins.
According to the same source, road traffic was cut from 23:30, indefinitely, and the Marquês de Pombal tunnel is being monitored.
“As soon as it is understood that it is at risk of flooding or of some situation, we will also close it”, explained Margarida Castro Martins.
The director of the Municipal Civil Protection Service recalled that the expected peak of protection is between 2 am and 4 am and that the Fire Sappers Regiment, the Municipal Police, the volunteer firefighters and the Civil Protection team are mobilized to “do permanent recognition throughout the city”.
According to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA), from 0 am until today at 3 am the orange warning will be in force in the districts of Lisbon, Leiria, Santarém and Setúbal, with forecast of rain, sometimes heavy and persistent.
On Saturday, the National Civil Protection Authority (ANPC) declared a state of special alert at yellow level for the entire device on the continent, the second most serious out of four escalations, due to worsening weather conditions.
The national commander of the ANPC, André Fernandes, warned, in a press conference at the national headquarters in Carnaxide (Oeiras), of the “sporadically intense” rain expected in some areas of the country starting at dawn today, which will have an impact on the basins watersheds of the rivers Vez, Cávado, Tejo, Zêzere, in particular on the tributary of the river Nabão, “which may flood”.