Portugal on alert: Closed schools and suspended transport

O portugal entered at 00:00 in a state of alert due to the passage of depression Charles, which will affect, as of this morning, especially the regions of the Algarve, Alentejo, Lisbon and Centro.

The alert situation takes place until 23:59 and implies the adoption of exceptional measures of prevention and greater readiness of security forces, rescue media and response teams of telecommunications operators and energy distribution.

Also the South coast and the mountainous regions of the island of Madeira are under red warning, the maximum level, from 21:00 Tuesday and until 06:00 today due to the forecast of rain sometimes strong and persistent, and, from 00:00, also because of the wind with gusts up to 140 kilometers per hour (km/h).

The prediction is that depression Charles causes floods, falls of trees and other structures and disturbances in energy and telecommunications networks.

Closed schools, deleted transport

Due to forecast weather deterioration, the government decided closing schools of all levels of education and non-essential public services in all districts, besides calling for teleworking whenever possible.

In Madeira, school closure will only be during the morning, as the intensity of depression will decrease in the region from that time on.

According to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), the weather should worsen during the morning on the continent, predicting the occurrence of rainy periods or intense showers.

O wind will be strong, with bursts that can reach 120 km/ h and, in the event of formation of the phenomenon ‘sting jet’ (air current falling rapidly within an extratropical depression, accelerating towards the surface), exceed 150 km/h”.

On the continent, the IPMA predicts that depression Charles will hit especially the regions of the Algarve, Alentejo, Lisbon and Centro, having issued several red warnings for rain and wind.

The mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Coins, announced the closure of tunnels, parks and gardens and cultural equipment and highlighted that circulation in riverside areas “should be avoided”.

The Express Network will suspend bus traffic between 10:00 and 23:59 today throughout the national territory and CP admits constraints on the circulation of trains.

In the Porto Metropolitan Area, the river links between Porto and Vila Nova Gaia will be suspended.

Attention to the coast

The National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) asked the population to “evidence unnecessary displacements during periods of greater rainfall and wind intensity, adopting special caution in road traffic”.

It also warned of the possibility of power and communications disruptions and, in this sense, asked citizens to have powerbanks and mobile phones perfectly loaded to be a few autonomous hours.

He also asked them to “special care in the circulation and stay close to wooded areas, due to the possibility of falling trees or branches and to avoid activities close to water lines”.

The ANEPC commander, Mario Silvestre, said that civil protection is in Level 4 of commitment, meaning they are in the maximum response capacity.

The Minister of Internal Administration (MAI), Luís Neves, also admitted the closure of bridges and ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal announced that the operation of the airports of Lisbon, Faro and Madeira will be conditioned, being expected cancellations of flights.

Luís Neves also appealed to telework and employers and workers to reconcile work and said that free air activities, traffic in parks, forests and gardens are prohibited, also asking the population to care for parking, especially in underground parks.

The president of the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) warned that the forecasts indicate that there are 101 municipalities that may have urban floods, giving as an example the municipalities of Faro, Albufeira and Tavira, in the Algarve, Nazaré, Óbidos, Caldas da Rainha and Alcobaça, in the West zone, and the municipalities of Coimbra a Viseu, in the Center zone.