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The Santa Comba Dão Camara is recruiting volunteers to “assist in various social tasks” and to collect items, essentially to equip homes for people affected by the fires.

“We are recruiting volunteers to help with various social tasks,” the municipality announced today, through its website, in which it makes contacts by telephone (962 728 982) and e-mail (geral@cm-santacombadao .pt), through which those interested can contact.

The Camara of Santa Comba Dão, in the district of Viseu, also asks for help for people affected by the fires on Sunday, requesting the donation of goods such as furniture, equipment and kitchen utensils, bedding and mattresses, in short “everything that is necessary to equip and furnish the dwellings that have burned and will be rebuilt.”

The delivery of goods must be done in conjunction with the Municipal Civil Protection Service, underlines the Chamber, which also opened a bank account (PT50 0035 070800029527 330 41), to support the victims of the fires in the county.

There is also a lack of “machinery and means of cleaning, demolition and clearing”, warns the local authority, calling on “all private and public entities that have this type of equipment to make available to the service of the population.”

It is necessary to “reconcile all means, private and public, to start cleaning and recovery of the county as soon as possible,” states the Camara.

“The residents of Santa Cruz, should arrive as soon as possible to quantify the losses” resulting from the fires of Sunday, October 15, 2017, states the Chamber, which makes available online, in particular, its inventory records for private constructions agricultural areas and damage to agricultural and livestock farms.

The city of Mangualde today thanked “the immense solidarity shown by the citizens” after the fires on Sunday and released a list of goods considered priority to respond to the needs of the victims of the fires. This was one of the worst area affected by fires.

“At the moment the following goods are a priority: bed linen, towels, underwear (pajamas, bedroom slippers, etc.), toiletries, household utensils (pans, dishes, pans, etc.).

The list was prepared by the Technical Services of the Municipality of Mangualde, who are coordinating the survey of all the needs of the population most affected.

“All of these goods must be delivered to the Mangualde Social + ‘Social Shop, located at Avenida Conde D. Henrique (Radio Buildings). Upon receipt of these goods, and in the light of the identification of the most critical needs, these goods will be distributed, daily, to those who need them.

In this first phase of rescue, the Chamber considers that “it is not opportune to deliver appliances, furniture and other equipment without first promoting the reconstruction of the dwellings affected.”

However, the Technical Services states that anyone who wants to donate goods of this kind should indicate “the intentions / availabilities for these offers through the phone 232619880 or the email ssocial@cmamngualde.pt”. The donations of building materials will await a closer survey of reality.

The municipality also informs that it provides psychological support to all people “who have experienced a traumatic situation, need help for their emotional stabilization, because they have been confronted with a catastrophe, whose personal and collective consequences are still difficult to calculate and evaluate “.

An anonymous report on the morning of  19^th October has led the Military Judiciary Police (PJM) to find in Chamusca weapons of war stolen from the Tancos military base, the Diário de Notícias reported.

Forty four weapons of war, grenades and explosives were intercepted. War material missing from military warehouses on June 28 has now been found scattered in the middle of the bush at Chamusca, 21 kilometers from the Tancos military base. Only the ammunition was not intercepted.

The Military Judicial Police (PJM) said in the communiqué that, in the context of investigations to combat trafficking and illicit trade in war material, “that this morning 19^th October 2017 they had recovered in the Chamusca region, with the collaboration of the criminal investigation unit of the GNR of Loulé, war material stolen from the National Parks of Tancos “, quotes Lusa.

According to the PJM, “the recovered material is already in the Paiais de Santa Margarida, guarded by the Army, where the expert’s assessment is being carried out for further identification.”

The PJM recovered almost all the war material stolen in the Tancos warehouses, with the exception of 9mm ammunition, has been recovered, the source said. The same source said that the expert’s work for the detailed identification of the material is not yet completed, but it is already possible to confirm that the ammunition is still missing.

Among the stolen material the Army reported in June were offensive hand grenades, 9mm ammunition, rocket grenades, tear gas grenades and explosives. Ministry notes “relevance of the operation” of the PJM and says that it is necessary to wait,

The Ministry of National Defence today highlighted the “relevance of the operation” of the PJM, which recovered the stolen material in Tancos, stressing that it is necessary to await the completion of the investigation.

Contacted by Lusa, an official source of the Ministry of National Defence pointed out the “relevance of the operation” of the PJM that allowed the retrieval of stolen military material in the National Tanks of Tancos, stressing, however, the need to “wait for the conclusion of the investigation.” “As has always been said by the Minister of National Defence, it will be necessary to wait for the conclusion of the ongoing criminal investigation to know all the contours related to the theft of war material from the National Tanks of Tancos,” said the Cabinet of Minister Azeredo Lopes.

The case is “investigated in the context of an investigation conducted by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Central Department of Criminal Investigation and Action.” The process, he adds, is being led by the Public Prosecutor’s Office assisted by the National Counter-Terrorism Unit of the Judiciary Police and with the collaboration of the Military Judiciary Police. “This investigation does not have defendants constituted and is in the secret of justice,” he concludes.

The Judiciary Police (PJ) announced Wednesday 18^th October the arrest, in collaboration with the PSP, of five suspects of kidnapping and robbing an elderly couple from Viana do Castelo. The culprits were hooded and armed with firearms.

Contacted by the agency Lusa, a source of PJ de Braga said that the case occurred around 03:00 Tuesday at the residence of the couple, and the woman is “bedridden” and her husband “had to receive hospital treatment.”

The same source said that the five members of the “violent group”, aged between 21 and 43 years were detained on Tuesday “during the afternoon / evening”, and are all residents of Viana do Castel. They appeared on 19^th October at the judicial authorities for interrogation and are now under detention pending trial.

In a statement, PJ revealed that “the couple were surprised by the group of robbers, who were hooded and armed. They suffered physical attacks and were deprived of their liberty while robbing them of various objects, including gold, some of which had already been recovered.”

Source of the PSP District Command of Viana do Castelo said that the couple, “aged between 70 and 80, reside in Areosa.”

Prime Minister’s speech to the nation regarding the forest fires

Prime Minister António Costa said that “on the part of the Government they can count on a total determination in the assumption of responsibilities, in the reconstruction of the territories and in the repreparation of damages, in the execution of the reforms of the forest and of the model of prevention and combat to forest fires”, in a statement on the forest fires of 15 and 16 October .

However, “this has to be the collective and collective effort of the whole society. Only then will we live up to the requirement that we all share: after this year, nothing can remain as before, “he said.

Referring to the fact that in two days “the country has been plagued by the largest wave of fires since 2006”, the Prime Minister left “the Government’s commitment to put out the flames, the solidarity of this hour will continue at the time of reconstruction and repair damage ‘.

“This is a moment of mourning, to express to the families of the victims our condolences and to offer our solidarity to the people” who have tried to protect their lives and save homes, property and businesses.

This is also the “moment of giving recognition, gratitude and encouragement to all those who help the people and fight the flames whether they are volunteers or professional firefighters, foresters, nature or forest guards, soldiers of the GNR or the Armed Forces , health professionals or social action.

António Costa assured that “all available resources have been mobilized, including the Armed Forces” and that the mechanisms of international support, namely the European civil protection mechanism, have been activated, and the state of calamity has been activated.

The GNR and the PJ “has intensified the fight against crime associated with fires, having almost doubled the number of suspects identified last year for this year”.

Structural problem

The Prime Minister underlined the structural nature of forest fires, which is why we “launched the forest reform one year ago”, which “must be carried out with the utmost determination in order to ensure the structural reduction of the risk of fire, that we have a sustainable forest that contributes to the vitality of the rural world, which is not a factor of desertification and threatens the security of the people “.

“We are aware that the country demands results in a time trial after decades of forest disorganization,” but “we find in this national requirement increased motivation to collectively win this battle.”

‘The delay in producing results only makes the start of reform of the forest more urgent’, which ‘does not exhaust the consequences of this dramatic summer’.

The Government will therefore implement the conclusions and recommendations of the report of the independent technical commission appointed by the Assembly of the Republic, which analyzes in depth our entire system for the prevention and control of forest fires and hopes that the consensus that led to the constitution of this commission the decisions to be made.

The Prime Minister António Costa announced that the Government declared a public calamity in all districts north of the Tagus to ensure the mobilization of more means to combat forest fires.

The Prime Minister made this statement at the National Command of Relief Operations of the National Civil Protection Authority in Oeiras, accompanied by the Minister of Internal Administration, Constança Urbano de Sousa.

“A decree of public calamity was signed by me and by the Minister of Internal Affairs in all the districts north of the Tagus, in order to create the best conditions for the mobilization of means and, in particular, to guarantee voluntary firefighters their rights to participate in this mission, ensuring the justification of absences in the workplace and two days of rest for each one in which they are participating in the fight against the fires, “said António Costa.

Condolences to families, encouragement to firefighters

The Prime Minister began by expressing condolences to the families of the victims of the fires on October 15, conveying “a word of solidarity with all the populations that have been threatened by a day that was devastating throughout the country.

António Costa also left “a word of encouragement to the more than 12,000 operatives who throughout the day tried to stop the flames and the more than 6,000 who are still fighting the flames at the moment”.

On October 15 there were “523 fires in the whole of the country and therefore the means were stretched to the limits”, “at a stage of the year in which, by the normal conditions of the climate, it is more difficult to mobilize resources. ”

“We will surely have a very difficult day,” on October 16th. “The forecasts of the meteorological evolution may allow some hope in the coastal areas, but for the interior areas we will still have very high levels of fire risk throughout the day,” said António Costa.

Reform of systems of prevention and combat

The Prime Minister said that “this was a dramatic year from the point of view of the tragedy of human lives, from the point of view of the extent of material damage, from the point of view of gravity and prolongation of occurrences. And therefore, nothing can remain as it was. ”

The political responsibility of the Government is to transform the recommendations of the Independent Technical Commission “into reality and to act”, with the “awareness that moving from a report to reality necessarily implies time, political action, mobilization of resources, mobilization of resources ‘.

The Council of Ministers will meet on October 21 to discuss forest and fire issues, paying particular attention to the conclusions contained in the report of the Independent Technical Commission on the fires that occurred last June in Pedrogão Grande and Góis.

This is “the worst day of the year on forest fires,” said the civil protection spokeswoman. “We have already surpassed 303 fires since midnight,” said Patrícia Gaspar, at the 17:30 briefing to journalists, stressing that at that time “all available means are involved in fighting fires”.

At 17:30 hrs there were 13 fires of high importance, most notably those of Monção, Seia, Vale de Cambra, Lousã, Sertã and Arganil. About 1500 operatives are fighting these fires.

As at 15:30 hrs today there were a total of 122 fires of which 53 are active, 19 at a resolution stage and 50 in conclusion. A total of 3846 firefighters are deployed supported by 1046 vehicles and 14 aircraft/helicopters. There are many road closures – see below.

Of the active fires eight are classed as significant. Two of these are in Guards, two in Viseu, and the others in Coimbra, Aveiro, Braga and Viana do Castelo.