Government recommends suspension of Web Summit on Wednesday

O prime Minister said today that the government recommended the suspension of the work of the Web Summit on Wednesday due to the predictions of extreme weather phenomena, but referred the final decision to the organisation of this technological summit.

At the end of a working meeting at the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), in the context of coordinating and monitoring the situation of the depressions affecting Portugal, Luís Montenegro called for the prudence of the Portuguese and was asked whether it would not make sense to cancel on Wednesday the work of the Web Summit, which takes place next to the Tagus River, in Parque das Nações.

“What I can assure you is that we have already issued our recommendation that the work of this event may be suspended during tomorrow’s day, for various reasons that have to do with the location of the event, because many of its participants are foreigners and do not have the same affinity with the emergency procedures as other citizens living in our territory,” he said.

The Prime Minister also justified the suspension recommendation with regard to mobility in the Lisbon region.

“ The recommendation that we make to the organisers is that they should be able to decide on this, and that is their decision. I believe that with common sense, with a sense of weight and responsibility, no one will expose citizens in an unnecessary way, both national and foreign, to situations of greater risk,” he said.

Continental Portugal is on alert between 00:00 and 23:59 Wednesday, due to the possible worsening of the state of time with the arrival of depression Charles, it is expected that Lisbon, Leiria, Setúbal, Beja and Faro will be the most affected regions.

The government has decided to close non-essential schools and public services in all districts, and the authorities have admitted to closing bridges and air traffic restrictions.

According to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), “the occurrence of heavy rain or shower periods, strong wind, with gusts that can reach 120 kilometers/hour and, in case of formation of the phenomenon ‘sting jet’ (air current that quickly descends inside an extratropical depression, accelerating towards the surface), exceed 150 kilometers/hour”.

Red weather warnings (the maximum level) were issued for the continent, for Wednesday, and also for Madeira, as of tonight. In the archipelago the schools will be closed in the morning.