Month: May 2025

 

 

ALGARSAFE’25 – Portimão International Civil Protection and Rescue Fair

 

Presentation to the foreign community 1400 hrs 22^nd May 2025

Between the 22nd and 25th of May, Portimão Arena and the Parque de Feiras e Exposições will be the venue for ALGARSAFE’25 – Portimão International Civil Protection and Relief Fair at the Portimão Arena.

This is the 4th edition of what is considered the largest civil protection and relief fair south of the Tagus, which has been held every two years since 2016, marking the calendar when it comes to this important area of ​​society.

Event tailored for the foreign community

Included in the presentations will be an event in English tailored for the foreign community on the subject of risk awareness and preparedness against various disasters such as rural fires, earthquakes and storms. This will take place at 1400 hrs on Thursday 22^nd May 2025. Safe Communities Portugal will be presenting together with the GNR, Civil Protection and ICNF. This will include how to recognize the risks brought about by various extreme weather conditions which Portugal faces and, by understanding these risks take steps to reduce the impacts, such by minimizing damage to property and avoiding loss of life. The GNR will be presenting land cleaning. There will be opportunities to ask questions as well as tour the various exhibits on display. The event is free. Registration eventos@ahbvp.pt

This fair once again brings together in a single space more than fifty public and private entities

The exhibition space inside the Portimão Arena will have a direct connection to the outside, in the Fair and Exhibition Park, where the public will be able to watch demonstrations and training activities, and be able to visit the exhibition of resources and equipment from the different Civil Protection Agents and participating exhibitors. There will also be live demonstrations, training sessions, and drills carried out by operators in simulated emergency scenarios, including extrication and fighting urban fires.

With an exhibition area of 4,000m2 inside the Portimão Arena, plus a further 30,000m2 in the Fair and Exhibition Park, this event is co-organised by Portimão City Council and Portimão Firefighters, with the support of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), the National Firefighters School, the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM), and the Portuguese Firefighters League, in addition to other Civil Protection Agents and cooperating entities.

 

 

Recipe to minimize the impacts of a “blackout”

 

By Duarte Costa Former President of ANEPC

 

Let’s start from the beginning. We are never prepared for low-determinism, high-impact contingency situations, but planning and implementing well-worked and tested routines prevent wasting time, guide actions and, in crisis and catastrophe situations, save lives.

The situation that Portugal experienced this Monday cannot be called a crisis or anything like that, but for citizens who have become accustomed to living dependent on a set of resources and capabilities, the lack of one of them ends up creating disruptions where everyone complains and no one is right, not forgetting that the proximity of elections exacerbates the desire to take advantage of what happened, both positively and negatively. And seeing this from the outside, as is my case now, ends up providing me with the necessary distance to analyse the model of action in a situation like this.

Let’s be pragmatic and leave value judgments to those who seek causes and not solutions. Personally, I prefer solutions.

Portugal has an organized response structure that, when used under the correct conditions as per the legislation, allows us to avoid deviations in the response and the consequent loss of time. Thus, in a situation like the one that occurred or a similar one, there are 4 fundamental actions foreseen in our organization as a State. Namely:

1. Immediately convene the National Security Office in order to understand how what is happening may impact the protection profiles to be applied to infrastructures, especially those that are critical.
2. Convene the Higher Council for Internal Security, which operates within the scope of the Internal Security System (SSI) and assists the Prime Minister and the Government (which has members present) in the exercise of their powers in the area of ​​internal security, namely in adopting the necessary measures in situations of serious threat to internal security (it worked excellently during the World Youth Days and would be a way of integrating all the information and operational conduct of all security and civil protection agents and forces).
3. Immediately hear the President of the National Council for Civil Emergency Planning, to assess what was done previously to safeguard the continuity of institutional normality (The National Civil Emergency Planning System, created by Decree-Law No. 43/2020, of July 21, aims to guarantee the organization and preparation of the strategic sectors of the State to face crisis situations, with the aim of ensuring, in particular, the freedom and continuity of government action, the regular functioning of essential State services and the safety and well-being of the population. This President is inherently the President of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) and participates in the meeting of the Superior Council for Internal Security, mentioned in the previous point, hence the relevance of the SSI in this response system).
4. Within the scope of the Internal Security System, promote only one single point of institutional communication in order to maintain the connection with the Government, coordinate the communication manoeuvre, and avoid alarmism and misinformation.

All four of these actions can and should be carried out simultaneously, and actions 2, 3 and 4 have already been tested (with excellent results) and trained during the organization of the World Youth Days. The key word is “coordination”, which avoids scattered, inconsequential manoeuvres that waste resources and can generate confusion and chaos.

 

From this point on, it is a matter of conduct and contingency, and everything must be managed, at this level of crisis, by the Secretary General of the SSI and with the presence of those responsible for the institutions mentioned above and others that may become necessary. Always bear in mind that more serious crises may require another type of decision-making process.

In terms of government action and for this specific case that occurred this Monday, it is important to highlight the following aspects that help to minimize the impacts of what happened:

1. Activate the Energy Emergency Plan and declare a state of energy emergency if the crisis continues, or if it has a major initial disruptive impact, while simultaneously prioritizing essential sectors: hospitals, public safety, communications, water supply, civil protection.
2. Provide transparent, centralized and frequent communication, informing the population immediately about the situation, explaining, if possible, the causes, expected duration, and above all what is being done to maintain normality. Above all, disseminate clear instructions for responsible energy use.
3. Mobilize emergency power sources, activating available power stations that can be quickly operationalized and informing people of their availability in case of need, in order to reassure people. Also use emergency generators in hospitals, public transport and logistics centers (which must be tested in normal times and subject to fines if this is not observed).
4. Ensure strategic reserves of diesel, natural gas and gasoline for essential services and, if necessary, control and prioritize the sale of fuels.
5. Support the vulnerable population, creating Population Concentration and Support Zones (ZCAP), support centers for people without access to energy, especially the elderly, the sick and vulnerable families (ANEPC already has a long history and experience in creating emergency ZCAP, with guaranteed food, water and shelter, especially in the event of a worsening crisis).

 

6. Prepare for the restoration and safeguard against future crises, immediately initiating a critical analysis of the electrical infrastructure through the CNPCE and investing in strengthening the electrical grid, energy storage and redundancy of energy dependence (for a country that occupies the westernmost tip of the European continent, this redundancy must be a strategic objective of the Portuguese State).

 

If everything mentioned above is done, will the crisis situation be resolved? Of course not, but the impact on people will be largely minimized, and that is what we should strive for as civil servants, that is, to serve the people. And when we serve the people in general, we are also serving the State. And because, at the end of the day, it is the people who pay for the State.

 

Former president of ANEPC

 

 

 

 

 

More than 400 Portuguese beaches have a blue flag this year: find out where they are

 

For the first time, the municipalities of Cuba and Alcanena nominated their beaches, which were awarded

More than 400 Portuguese beaches have a blue flag this year, six more than last year, with the beaches of Sintra being highlighted as receiving the award, the Blue Flag Association for the Environment and Education (ABAAE) announced today.

The distinction of good quality was awarded to 404 beaches – of which 354 are coastal and 50 are inland beaches -, 18 marinas and 22 ecotourism vessels, in a total of 444 awards given to Portugal by the international jury in 2025.

According to the president of ABAAE, José Archer, all Portuguese coastal municipalities have award-winning beaches this year.

The beaches of Sintra, which had not participated in the program for ten years, were also distinguished, allowing “the entire coast to be covered with a blue flag, from north to south and in the autonomous regions”, highlighted José Archer.

For the first time, the municipalities of Cuba and Alcanena nominated their beaches, which were awarded.

The 404 beaches are distributed among 105 promoters.

The North, with five fewer in the overall count, and the Algarve, with one fewer, were the regions that lost blue flag beaches in total this year compared to last year.

In total, the North has 75 award-winning coastal beaches (last year it had 79) and nine inland beaches (one less than in 2024).

The beaches of Árvore (Vila do Conde), Frente Azul, Seca and Silvalde (all in Espinho), Vila Praia de Ancora (Caminha) and the river beach of Merelim São Paio (Braga) no longer have a blue flag in the North. On the other hand, a new beach, Cavadinho (river beach), in Braga, has been added to the list.

The Algarve has 85 distinguished coastal beaches, having lost, compared to last year, the blue flag of Batata beach (Lagos).

In the Center, a total of 33 coastal beaches (one more than in 2024) and 16 inland beaches have been awarded.

New to the Center’s list are the river beaches of Ançã, Olhos de Fervença and Sete Fontes (Cantanhede) and Cornicovo (Penacova) and the coastal beaches of Barra do Sul (Aveiro) and Costa Nova Sul (Ílhavo).

In the Center, São Pedro da Maceda (Ovar) and the river beaches of Côja (Arganil), Louçainha (Penela), Mâmoa (Santa Maria da Feira) and Bogueira (Lousã) no longer have a blue flag.

In the Tagus river basin, 66 coastal beaches have been awarded (five more than last year) and 15 river beaches (one more).

According to EBAAE, the Olhos d’Água do Alviela river beach (Alcanena) has a blue flag for the first time in this hydrographic region and the Alvares river beach (Góis) has been reinstated.

The coastal beaches of Adraga, Grande, Maçãs and Magoito, in Sintra, and São Julião, in the municipality of Mafra, also re-entered.

The river beach of Sesmo, in the municipality of Castelo Branco, has lost its blue flag in this region.

In Alentejo, there are 31 award-winning coastal beaches (two more) and 10 inland beaches (one more).

The river beaches of Albergaria dos Fusos (Cuba) and the coastal beaches of Monte Velho and Porto das Carretas/Albarquel, in Santiago do Cacém, are new beaches with a blue flag.

In the Azores, 46 coastal beaches have been awarded, one more than the previous year, Calheta dos Lagadores beach, on Terceira Island.

In Madeira there are 18 coastal beaches with a blue flag, including Prainha, in Caniçal, Machico.

The official ceremony of raising the first blue flag on a coastal beach will take place this year in Santa Cruz da Graciosa, in the Azores, on June 3rd.

The first blue flag on a river beach will take place at the Quinta do Barco river beach, in Sever do Vouga, on June 15th.

The first marina to fly the blue flag will be Vilamoura, on June 20th.

23 Blue Centers (information structures and environmental education activities located near beaches) distributed throughout all regions were also recognized.

Portugal ranks sixth among the 51 countries that develop the Blue Flag Program, taking into account the awarded locations.

The announcement of the Blue Flag Association was made today at the Vasco da Gama Aquarium, in Dafundo, Oeiras, district of Lisbon.