Will the schools that closed today reopen? Is there public transport in Lisbon? 🇧🇷 meteorology
How will the weather be on Wednesday?
The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) once again forecasts showers for portugal, this Wednesday, referring that these can be “sometimes strong”, especially in the afternoon. For Greater Lisbon, the IPMA anticipates a day with “generally very cloudy” skies. Showers may also be accompanied by thunderstorms. For this part of the country, there is also a forecast of “weak to moderate” wind and, in the afternoon, moments of moderate to strong wind and “gusts of up to 60 km/h near Cabo Raso”.
The forecast weather conditions mean that the IPMA has the entire continent on a yellow alert due to rain between 9am and 6pm.
And what did Civil Protection say?
The national commander of the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC), AndrĂ© Fernandes, in the assessment made this Tuesday, referred that a new worsening of weather state on Wednesday, between 9am and 6pm, when the rain could be “persistent and occasionally strong”.
“We hope it’s a night of work, where the rehabilitation actions will be fundamental to guarantee that this critical period tomorrow doesn’t have such an impact as it did today”, said AndrĂ© Fernandes.
That is, after the slight improvement of the weather at the end of this Tuesdaywhere no warning was given for heavy rainon Wednesday mainland Portugal will be on yellow alert.
When will it stop raining?
Looking at the forecasts available on the place do IPMA, are expected, at least until Saturday, periods of cloudy skies across the country, with high probability of rain. That is, the bad weather should continue until the weekend, and on Thursday the whole country should leave the yellow state, thus verifying an improvement in the weather.
Will the schools that closed today reopen on Tuesday?
Lisbon schools will remain open this Tuesday, but “within their autonomy they may decide to close”, confirmed a source from the Ministry of Education’s (ME) communication office. Schools in the municipality of Oeiras, closed today due to heavy rain, will reopen on Wednesday, after responding to “all safety and operating conditions”, announced the Lisbon district authority.
AndrĂ© Fernandes underlined that the situation depends from establishment to establishment, wait for the security conditions to be evaluated. “There are schools where normality has not been re-established, so they will not be open, but it is a matter of validating point by point”, said the official, calling for the contact of the institutions for this confirmation.
And the universities in Lisbon?
Higher education institutions in the Lisbon area have suspended face-to-face activities due to bad weather, but there are universities that will remain open and functioning, allowing some classes to take place connected🇧🇷
The press office of the University of Lisbon (UL) confirmed to Lusa that the faculties are open, but “operating with the indication of greater tolerance, namely with classes connected for those who cannot do it in person”.
The UL Faculty of Law went further and decreed, in an order from the director, the postponement of the estimates scheduled for today and the suspension of face-to-face teaching activities, which will be replaced by classes connected🇧🇷 Non-teaching workers were also exempt from face-to-face work.
The Higher Institute of Social and Political Sciences at UL took a similar decision, having communicated, through social networks, the suspension of face-to-face classes.
ISCTE-IUL opted to allow workers unable to travel to the institution, due to the constraints caused by the rain, to work from home, but the academic activities were protected.
Will the roads that were cut reopen?
Civil Protection takes care of 24 roads with cutsincluding sections of the EN 8, between Odivelas and Loures; the Calçada de Carriche, in Odivelas; the EN 117, between Queluz and AlgĂ©s; and the EN 249, between AbĂłboda and Sintra. In tonight’s update, ANEPC also lists four impassable roads: the Radial de Benfica, the Chelas road, the Rua de Cima de Chelas and the Pimenteira road.
In a published note placethe municipality of Oeiras stresses that on Rua Major Afonso Pala, a commercial artery located in Baixa de AlgĂ©s and which was flooded today, “the water has already been drained, and the cleaning work is being carried out”.
“Access to the train station, the park adjacent to the station and the Health Center park are still impassable. Other locations in the municipality are also returning to normality”, added Câmara.
AndrĂ© Fernandes did not advance when the resumption of circulation on these roads is expected, referring only that there are teams on the ground working for this “restore of normality”. Ahead is a “long job that will take days”, as these roads will be reopened.
In Lisbon, they have already been reopened to traffic. several arteries in AlcântaraAvenida Infante D. Henrique (next to the Batista Russo Tunnel), Avenida 24 de Julho and Avenida da Índia, which were closed at 2:15 pm, as well as the tunnels of Campo Pequeno, Campo Grande, Avenida João XXI and Avenida de Berlin .
And the transports? The metro was closed and buses were delayed. How will it be on Wednesday?
After some subway stations were closed during the morning of this Tuesday, the situation was normalized throughout the day. Even so, circulation on the metro was never stopped. About tomorrow, according to a source from Metro de Lisboa, in statements to PÚBLICO, everything “will depend on the areas that flood the surface, and it is, for now, impossible to make a projection for the next few hours”.
In addition to the metro, bad weather even caused interruptions and disruptions to Carris buses throughout the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. Thus, at least for a period of 24 hours, “delays, deviations and, in more serious cases, suspension of services are expected”, can be read in the place from Carris🇧🇷 The service “is being gradually restored”, as the roads are reopened to traffic, according to the company.
PĂšBLICO tried to find out more information related to the areas of greatest risk, but until the time of publication of this news, it did not obtain any clarification.
With regard to trains, the Civil Protection records constraints on the Cascais line, between Cais Sodré and Oeiras, and on the East line, between Portalegre and Elvas. CP informs its customers who have been affected by bad weather that they can request a refund or revalidation of tickets, whether at the ticket office or not. placethrough the contact form.
Is there a prospect for the return of electricity?
According to the electricity distribution operator E-Networksa current situation “is considered normal”, with the registration of only “a few hundred customers without energy from north to south of the country”, a number that the company refers to as “residual” considering the network of six million customers.
During this Tuesday, the Greater Lisbon area was the most affected, with the highest incidence of cases being verified in the localities of Cascais, Loures, Sintra and Lisbon. The blackouts were, however, very localized”, having affected “a few thousand customers” throughout the day.
Are there problems with telephone networks?
​​​​​​​Vodafone Portugal “recorded only a few occasional constraints” due to the bad weather, “with greater incidence in the Greater Lisbon area”, an official source of the telecommunications operator told Lusa this Tuesday.
Previously, an official source from Altice Portugal had told Lusa that, “despite the very adverse weather conditions that are being felt and have been felt in the last few hours, at this moment there are no significant effects on Meo’s infrastructures and services”.
The impact of bad weather on NOS services “is not very expressive” and there are “one-off failures” due to the lack of energy and floods, namely in Lisbon and Vila Real, an official source from the operator told Lusa.
And if I have to miss work because of bad weather, do I miss it?
O work code does not directly refer to situations in which weather conditions prevent the worker from carrying out his activity, but article 249.º consider justified the absence “motivated by the impossibility of providing work due to a fact not attributable to the worker, namely compliance with a medical prescription following the use of a medically assisted procreation technique, illness, accident or compliance with a legal obligation”.
Therefore, if you have to miss work due to bad weather, you have a justified absence and without loss of pay.