Bad weather. Civil Protection registers 190 occurrences in mainland Portugal
“It’s been a normal night. For now everything is calm”, Commander Miguel Oliveira, from the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC) told Lusa.
According to Miguel Oliveira, Monday night was peaceful, warning that today’s early morning period will be “the most expressive”.
Twelve districts of mainland Portugal will be under orange warning today, the second most serious on a scale of three, due to heavy and persistent rain, according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA).
According to the IPMA, in addition to the districts of Porto and Braga, on an orange warning between 9:00 pm on Tuesday and 6:00 am today, and Viana do Castelo, from 2:27 pm on Tuesday and until 06:00 today, the districts of Coimbra, Aveiro, Lisbon, Setúbal and Viseu will be under orange warning, between 00:00 and 09:00 today.
In Castelo Branco, Leiria and Santarém, this notice is in effect for three hours, between 06:00 and 09:00, and in Vila Real between 00:00 and 06:00.
The IPMA also highlighted during Monday night that the most critical period will be between 00:00 and 09:00 today.
The orange warning means, according to the IPMA website, a meteorological situation of moderate to high risk and, in the case of rain, “heavy and persistent precipitation, which may be concomitant with thunderstorms”.
The remaining districts of mainland Portugal (Bragança, Évora, Guarda, Faro, Beja and Portalegre) are waiting under a yellow warning today or on Tuesday or both days.
The yellow warning means a risk situation for certain activities depending on the weather situation and, in the case of rain, “precipitation, sometimes strong and persistent”.
On Monday, the Civil Protection raised the alert level from yellow to orange in eight districts in the face of heavy rain forecasts for the end of the day and warned of the possibility of flooding in urban areas.
The special orange level alert applies in the districts of Braga, Viana do Castelo, Porto, Aveiro, Coimbra, Leiria, Setúbal and Lisbon, said the national commander of ANEPC, André Fernandes, during a press conference.
The orange level is the second highest on a scale of four and represents a high degree of risk, with the possibility of unusual phenomena occurring that can cause damage to people and property, jeopardizing their safety.
At the national headquarters of ANEPC in Carnaxide, in the municipality of Oeiras, André Fernandes explained that the weather forecasts pointed to “periods of rain, sometimes heavy and persistent” between late Monday night and early morning today.
The critical period will be between 21:00 and 09:00, with the possibility of thunderstorms and strong gusts of wind.
The national commander of ANEPC also referred that the Portuguese Environment Agency issued notices for the river basins of Minho, Lima, Cávado, Ave, Douro, Vouga, Mondego, Tejo and Sorraia.
As expected, the Civil Protection admits that flooding in urban areas, floods, landslides and landslides may occur. The most expressive areas are the North Coast, the Center region and the Lisbon Metropolitan Area.