Category: Uncategorized

 

MAI says crime is decreasing, but intensity of violence is greater

 

Lisbon, Sep 19, 2022 (Lusa) – The Minister of Internal Administration said today that crime is decreasing this year compared to 2019, a period before the covid-19 pandemic marked by confinement, but “the intensity of violence is increasing that requires attention”.

“We must compare crime figures with 2019, because 2020 and 2021 were years of a pandemic, and comparing with 2019 figures we have lower indicators, both for general and violent crime, but of course we must always be attentive to all manifestations of indiscipline and aggression”, José Luís Carneiro told journalists.

The minister advanced that crime is decreasing, but “the intensity of violence is increasing that require more attention”.

In this sense, he said that the Government created the Commission for the Integrated Analysis of Juvenile Delinquency and Crime and the Public Security Police is developing, on its own initiative, a set of interventions, namely special operations in the most crowded places at night.

The minister was speaking to journalists at the end of the promotion ceremony of the two new chief superintendents, five new superintendents and four intendants of the Public Security Police.

Among the new promotions is Paula Peneda, current commander of the Porto Metropolitan Command of the PSP, who, upon reaching the head superintendent, becomes the first woman to reach the highest rank of the Police.

 

The hacker group Ragnar Locker, responsible for the computer attack on TAP at the end of last month, have published personal data of 1.5 million airline customers. This Monday 19th September 2022, a document with 581 gigabytes of information was released on the Dark Web.

According to the newspaper Expresso, TAP did not give in to the blackmail of the group of hackers, who say they continue to have access to the airline’s computer systems.

The data released this Monday by the Ragnar Locker group includes names, addresses, mobile phone numbers of customers, as well as confidential agreements and professional identity cards and information about incidents during operations.

According to Expresso, the company only says that “the intrusion was contained at an early stage, before causing damage to operational processes. TAP’s operations are proceeding normally”.

Hackers had already published data on 115,000 customers more than a week ago, and threatened to leak more information if the ransom was not paid. Expresso advances that the Portuguese air carrier did not give in to the blackmail of the Ragnar Locker group.

The cybercrime group that claimed the attack on TAP is the same that carried out a cyberattack on EDP about two and a half years ago and, at the time, Ragnar Locker asked for a ransom of 10 million euros from the company that always denied any payment.

Using malicious applications, called ransomware, the group starts by infecting computer systems, encrypts and hijacks victims’ data. It then seeks to collect ransoms, usually in cryptocurrencies, so that they are more difficult to detect.

 

Seventeen people rescued from the sea at Mira, Coimbra

This is a service that is provided a few weeks before and a few weeks after the bathing season, which guarantees prevention on the beaches of the municipality, under the protocol signed in partnership between the Municipality of Mira and Adamastor.

“On Saturday, there were three rescues, in which four people were rescued. On Sunday, there were 13 rescues throughout the day”, Diogo Morais, coordinator of the Association of Lifeguards of Mira, told Lusa.

According to the source, although Portuguese were rescued, most were foreigners.

It was an “excellent job carried out this weekend when it was very hot and the sea was ‘treacherous’, with many waters and that’s why [the lifeguards] had a lot of work”, said the mayor. Municipality of Mira, Raul Almeida.

“As we are already out of the bathing season, luckily we have the prevention service. At the right time, the City Council invested in this project that ensures prevention in the period after the bathing season. At this time of year there is no surveillance, there is only this prevention carried out by two lifeguards and a quad bike, which is supported by the City Council”, he concluded.

The agreement between the municipality and Adamastor includes the provision of a quad bike by the municipality to the association, payment of fuel for its operation, two lifeguards, as well as the remaining material necessary for the exercise of functions.

COMMENT

Hopefully this large number in just one municipality will help get the message across concerning beach safety. It is fortunate that this agreement exists, as there are many beaches now without lifeguards, since the end of the bathing season.

It is important that people following the beach safety measures that are regularly promoted on this page especially as the number of drownings so far this year stands at over 100, the highest for 5 years.

 

UPDATE: 2230 Hrs

One person reported to have died i n the coastal city of Manzanillo Colima, when a wall at a mall collapsed (source BBC)

A very strong earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale was recorded this Monday in Mexico, announced the US Geological Centre.

There are still no damages or injuries to report, but the Associated Press reports that the quake was felt in the capital of Mexico City, located hundreds of kilometres from the epicentre.

The earthquake was recorded 37 kilometres off the coast of Aquila, between the states of Colima and Michoacan, at a depth of 15.1 kilometres.

Through Twitter, the Mexican seismological centre began by noting that the earthquake was registered with a magnitude of 6.8, later correcting it to 7.4.

Earthquake alarms sounded in the nation’s capital an hour after a nationwide drill, which took place on the same day as two other powerful earthquakes, in 1985 and 2017.

A tsunami threat has been issued

The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said that waves reaching one to three metres (three to nine feet) above the tide level could hit coastal areas overnight.

https://www.tsunami.gov/?p=PHEB/2022/09/19/22262001/2/WEPA40

COMMENT

 

A 45-year-old man died today 18th September 2022 after allegedly feeling unwell when entering the water, going into cardiac arrest, at Praia da Saúde, in Costa da Caparica, in the district of Setúbal, the National Maritime Authority (AMN) reported.

In a statement, the AMN clarified that the alert was given at 1:30 pm, with elements of the Lisbon Maritime Police Local Command, the Emergency and Reanimation Medical Vehicle of the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) and members of the Volunteer Firefighters.

“The victim, a 45-year-old man, was pulled out of the water alive by lifeguards on the beach, having gone into cardiorespiratory arrest upon arrival at the beach,” says the same note.

According to the AMN, resuscitation was performed without success, and the death was declared on the spot by the INEM doctor.

The body was transported by the Volunteer Firefighters of Cacilhas to the morgue of Hospital Garcia da Orta.

 

Rural fire Medronheira, Odemira

Incêndio:Bush

N.º Oc. 2022020023633

UPDATE: 1730 HRS

Fire now under conclusion. All roads re-open

Deployment 211 operatives supported by 76 vehicles.

UPDATE 0700 hrs

The fire was brought under resolution at 0225 hrs, meaning that it is under control.

As at 0700 hrs a total of 254 operatives supported by 89 vehicles remain deployed.

UPDATE: 22.20 HRS

Deployment 259 operatives supported by 92 vehicles.

n a new report to Lusa, at 8:30 pm, the mayor Hélder Guerreiro indicated that he was aware of a total of 13 people removed from their homes , only “for prevention”, including the first seven. Furthermore, “15 people left a tourist accommodation” only and only “on their own initiative”.

All these people, whether those who were withdrawn or those who left voluntarily, went “to the homes of family members or to their own homes”, since “no one is” in the pavilion of Escola EB2,3 in São Teotónio, prepared to welcome the displaced, stressed the mayor.

Contacted by Lusa, after 8:15 pm, a source from the national relief operations command of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), explained that “the fire still has two active fronts”. The fire “burns with moderate intensity, we are proceeding with the repositioning of some means that have been arriving in the meantime”, she added. At 8:44 pm, there were 240 operational personnel and 84 vehicles, with the air assets having already left the theatre of operations.

The same ANEPC source said he hoped that, “during the night, the means that have just arrived in the theatre of operations” can be repositioned so that, eventually, it is possible to “control the fire ”.

UPDATE: 1945 hrs

Deployment is now 257 operatives supported by 84 vehicles and 5 aircraft.

UPDATE 1715 hrs

Deployment 225 operatives supported by 74 vehicles and 8 aircraft

Two families, a total of seven people, were “preventively removed” from their homes, in the area where the fire is raging in the municipality of Odemira (Beja), and taken to São Teotónio, the mayor told Lusa news agency.

“People were removed preventively. There were two families, representing seven people”, explained the mayor, Hélder Guerreiro, to Lusa, at 16:45.

The seven people were taken to the pavilion of Escola EB2,3 in São Teotónio, which “is ready to receive” residents who need to be removed from their homes due to the fire.

“It is [the place] that is prepared to receive people, with food, a place to stay, everything”, stressed the mayor.

According to Hélder Guerreiro, “for now, there is no indication of burned houses”, only of “evacuations that had to be carried out in a preventive way”.

The mayor also said that National Road 120 (EN120), which connects Odemira to the Algarve, “is interrupted on the section between Boavista dos Pinheiros and São Teotónio”.

Contacted by Lusa, a source from the GNR’s Beja Territorial Command, confirmed the removal of seven people from a place “called Ourada” to São Teotónio.

And the cut to traffic on the EN120, because “the fire is right next to the road” and it was necessary to “guarantee a safety perimeter and cut” the road.

“Alternative roads are Estada Municipal 502-1 and 502-2, on the São Teotónio side”, while “on the Boavista dos Pinheiros side, the alternative is the vicinal road 1-9” informed the GNR.

UPDATE 1700 HRs

Deployment 199 operatives supported by 67 vehicles and 8 aircraft.

As forecast earlier the wind has decreased considerably.

Comment

With a rain front moving into the Algarve heading generally north east with short and heavy showers, it will be interesting to see whether this reaches the fire area and if so the affect. Latest ACCU weather map in comments.

UPDATE 1600 hrs

Deployment 136 operatives supported by 43 vehicles and 10 aircraft.

The fire that has been burning for three hours in the municipality of Odemira (Beja) has two active fronts and is evolving “with some intensity”, due to the wind, with some scattered houses, Civil Protection told Lusa.

According to a source from the National Operations Command of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), contacted by Lusa at 14:50, “there are some sensitive points” in the area “where the fire is evolving”, which are precisely “some scattered dwellings”.

“At the moment, we are not aware of homes that have to be evacuated, however, there are means that are already dispersed across these sensitive points to prevent and protect them,” he said.

The same source explained that the fire, whose alert was given at 12:05 and which broke out in the Medronheira area, in the parish of São Teotónio, Odemira, “is active and burning with some intensity in an area of ​​bush, cork oak and eucalyptus trees” .

“It is a fire that, at the moment, is developing with two active fronts”, he said, referring that, at that time, 149 operational personnel, 10 air assets and 41 support vehicles were involved .

This device is being reinforced with “means from Setúbal, Évora and Faro, which are on their way to the site”, he added.

n that area “some wind can be felt” and this factor has been what “is making the fight difficult”, because, despite being a mountain area, “it is not very high” and even “has good access”.

Also contacted by Lusa, the mayor of Odemira, Hélder Guerreiro, confirmed that the area affected by the fire “has some scattered dwellings”, but, in case it is necessary to proceed with evacuations, “there is already a pavilion in São Teotónio on standby” .

“And we have all the means ready so that, if something happens, we can act”, he said, stressing, however, that, until now, “it was not necessary to evacuate houses”.

SITERP 1500 hrs 18th September 2022

Deployment 149 operatives supported by 41 vehicles and 10 aircraft

A total of 116 operatives and eight air assets were fighting, at 1:49 pm, a fire in the Medronheira area, in the municipality of Odemira, according to the Civil Protection website.

The location of the fire is about 3 kms east north east of the town of São Teotónio and about 15 kms north of the border with Faro District (Algarve)

According to the website of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), the fire alert, in a wooded area, in Medronheira, in the parish of S. Teotónio, Odemira, Beja district, was given at 12:05.

In addition to the flames being fought by 149 operatives, they are supported by 41 ground vehicles, 10 aircraft.

Wind in the area for 1500 hrs is forecast by 1pMA at 15 km/h gusting to 40 km/h from the south east but decreasing considerably by 1700 hrs before picking up again later tonight. Air temperature 32.1C.

The high winds will aggravate the fire fighting.

Contacted by the Lusa agency, around 1:30 pm, the District Relief Operations Command of Beja (CDOS) sent further clarifications on this fire, as it was mobilizing resources to the site.

Earlier a CDOS source told Lusa that the flames were raging in an “area of bush and fruit trees”.

 

The districts are: Beja, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Evora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria, Lisbon, Portalegre, Santarem and Setubal

Rain warning:

“Showers at times heavy, which may be hail and accompanied by thunderstorms and gusts”

Thunderstorm warning:

“Thunderstorms and showers, which could be hail, and accompanied by gusts”

The IPMA forecast for this period is: At the beginning of the week, the mainland will be under the influence of an east or south current, associated with the circulation induced by depression to the southwest or south of the Iberian Peninsula. Showers are expected, especially in the Central and Southern regions on the 19, 20 and 21, which may be accompanied by thunderstorms, still with some uncertainty associated typical of these weather patterns.

ADVICE

FROM FIRE TO FLOODS

With heavy rain falling on burned land (from recent wild fires) debris flows are possible. These are fast-moving, deadly landslides.

They are powerful mixtures of mud, rocks, boulders, entire trees – and sometimes, homes or vehicles. You’ll often hear “debris flows” called “mudslides” or “mudflows”. Many people use the terms interchangeably, but to scientists, each is a different kind of landslide and debris flows are the most powerful and dangerous of the three. If you live downslope from burned area we suggest you are a\ware of the risk, by reading this article here.

https://www.weather.gov/bou/floodafterfire…

 

After a devastating summer with thousands of hectares of forest lost in Europe due forest fires, the European Commission is organising a high level meeting to already work on preparedness measures for next year.

Ministers responsible for Civil Protection in the EU member states and participating states of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism will meet today in Brussels for the High-Level Emergency Response Coordination Meeting, in close cooperation with the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU.

Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič said: “Even though we are not yet at the end of the summer, it is already clear that this is a record-breaking forest fires season for the EU. Wild forest fires have become a pan-European concern, affecting all of us. While our emergency services are still active in monitoring and containing fires, as political decision-makers we have to look to the future now and take swift and strong political commitments to do more both at national and EU level to enhance the EU’s preparedness for future fire seasons to prevent the worst.”

This year the EU Civil Protection Mechanism has been activated 11 times for wildfires across Europe and thanks to the unprecedented solidarity from Member States, the Emergency Response Coordination Centre coordinated 33 deployments of firefighting planes and 8 deployments of helicopters.

Thanks to the rescue fleet, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism has responded promptly and effectively to most of the requests made this year, providing immediate and effective support whenever capacities were available. In addition, the EU’s emergency Copernicus satellite continues to provide damage assessment maps of the affected areas.

Reported: 1637 hrs 7th July 2022

Num. Oc. 2022140040647

Forest Settlement

UPDATE: 0900 hrs Friday 8th July 2022

The bush fire in the parish of Freixianda, municipality of Ourém, that broke out on Thursday continues to be active.

As at 0831 hrs on Friday 8th July 504 operatives supported by 151 vehicles and five helicopters/fixed wing aircraft are deployed according to the Civil Protection page. Two INEM Immediate Life Support Ambulances and a crawler machine are also deployed on site.

Last night the District Command of Relief Operations (CDOS) of Santarém confirmed to Notícias ao Minuto that the fire was raging with “intensity”.

The fire has caused three minor injuries, including two firefighters, one with minor burns and the other with signs of exhaustion, as well as a woman who suffered a panic attack.

Last night the fire has an active front and is a reason for “concern” because it has already managed to enter the town of Abades. According to the operations commander, the fire is raging with “less intensity, but still with projections reaching 500 and 600 meters”.

District Relief Operations Command (CDOS) confirmed that the line of fire already extends for a few kilometres. Ramalheira, Casal do Pinheiro and Casal da Sobreira, belonging to the Union of Parishes of Freixianda, Ribeira do Fárrio and Formigais, are the villages closest to the fire, but so far no evacuations made.

“The fire remains very active on a single front. The whole of it is developing in pine forest. Occasionally, projections appear, but not with the same intensity as in the afternoon period [on Thursday]”, said a source from the Command District of Relief Operations ( CDOS ) of Santarém .

According to the Santarém CDOS, at 00:00, the “main concern is related to the protection of dwellings that are in the line of fire”.

“There are homes at risk because there are several hamlets and some isolated houses along this fire line”, he said, saying that “there is no forecast for when the fire will diminished in intensity”.

Last night the authorities also have done the full road closure of a municipal road, between Areeiro and Abades, which will be “open in the short term”.

Damages to a house in Abades by an explosion of a gas cylinder – not knowing if it is directly related to the fire – which did not cause any casualties and a fire in a shed that was hit by the fire in the locality of Ramalheira.

A source from the firefighters told CNN Portugal that one house and two sheds have already burned down and that there are more houses at risk.

Speaking to CNN Portugal, the Santarém District Center for Relief Operations (CDOS) reported that resources are still being mobilized and that the fire is taking place in a forested area, with some scattered homes.

 

112 – The European Emergency Call Number

 

Recently I was privileged to visit one of the four 112 Emergency call centres in Portugal. The one I visited was in Lisbon serving the mainland south of Santarém, Leiria and Castelo Branco included. The other three are in Porto, Madeira and the Azores.

Hopefully most of us will never encounter a situation whereby we will need the assistance of the emergency services. However, in case this becomes necessary, it is important to know how it operates and what you will be asked when making a call.

The two centres, one in Lisbon and the other in Porto, are designed to be fully independent and to ensure disruption-free operation, even if one centre experiences an overload or a failure.

Callers to 112 seek help in all types of emergency situations such as rural fires, medical or maritime distress, crime situations, and many others. Fast and efficient responses to those calls literally save lives.

Overview
The 112 call centre in Lisbon is accommodated underground and its location not advertised. The centre’s layout is similar to most call centres I have seen in several countries and on one occasion been responsible for. It comprises a massive screen which shows electronically useful indicators such as the number of calls coming in; the details of which operator is dealing with each call, the number of calls over a given period; the waiting time before calls are answered; the duration of the call; and number of calls in the queue etc.

The Public Security Police (PSP) are responsible for the operation of the call centre, but the operators are both GNR and PSP. All speaking English and some, other languages. Having police answering calls in my experience is an advantage as most have operational front line experience in dealing with such emergencies.

It is important to remember that the centre does not deploy vehicles or response teams to emergencies, which is the role of district command/control centres. . In the case of medical emergencies these are passed to the Emergency Coordination Centres (CODU) run by INEM.

Calling 112

I was there about 45 minutes, during which there were around 150 calls received, with an answering waiting time ranging from 3 to 10 seconds. Obviously the more calls that come in, especially during major incidents, the longer the answering time. This takes me to two very important points: the first is that 65% of all calls are NON-EMERGENCY – this can range from lost pets, traffic conditions; the weather and so on – there are also false calls as well. Needless to say this greatly impedes the effectiveness of the 112 system and means that the handling of genuine calls can be compromised.

The second point is that it is vital that callers continue to wait until the call in answered. This may take time when there are many calls – minutes rather than seconds. All incoming calls are in a queuing system, so if you terminate a call and call again a few minutes later, you will be at the back of a queue. This often happens in major incidents and coupled with 65% of non-emergency calls has obvious consequences.

The third point is to remain calm. This is easier said than done when a fire is raging towards your home! However it is a fact that in an emergency people are naturally under considerable stress and when speaking in a different language to the operator’s native tongue, sometimes with strong regional accents, effective communication is more difficult. Try and stay calm and wait and reply speaking as clearly and slowly as possible to the questions asked.

The process

All calls are recorded for legal reasons. The operator enters all the details obtained into the system and this record, giving location, nature of the emergency, , address and phone number etc., (not the recording) is automatically passed to the appropriate district control centre where the emergency is located, e.g. CDOS (Civil Protection), GNR or PSP. It is these centres which are responsible for deploying the appropriate resources to locate the caller/victim and coordinating and monitoring the emergency response.

The details are also automatically passed to the national control centres PSP, GNR or ANEPC in Lisbon. All centres have liaison personnel who can contact their respective commands to ensure coordination.

Try to keep your phone line free until the emergency services reach you. The dispatcher may need to contact you for further information.

Knowing your location

The Advanced Mobile Location (AML) technology is used in Portugal. An AML-enabled smartphone recognises when an emergency call is made and, if not already activated, activates the phone’s GNSS to collect the caller’s location information. The handset then sends an automatic SMS to the emergency services with the caller’s location.

The AML is dependent on several factors in the area where you are located  and therefore the location shown maybe to within a few metres, but can be several kilometres if AML is not enabled. Important for android and IOS phones, ensure in “Settings” that the “Emergency Location Service” is activated.

In giving your location you can use description, such as the road between X and Y for instance: landmarks; GPS coordinates; road numbers: milestones and Safe Residence Program house numbers. The operator may not know the exact point you are referring to, but these details are automatically passed to the district centres who have that more detailed “local” knowledge/information necessary for deployment. Remember when giving numbers speak clearly and slowly to avoid mistakes. If you speak Portuguese this is obviously preferred.

A tip is to write this down with translation and display in a prominent place in your home

Those with impaired hearing
Portuguese authorities have a facility which connects the caller to a sign language interpreter in the operational centre who translates the sign language into speech. This app can be downloaded from website 112.pt and from Play Store (Android) and App Store (IOS).

What 3words

During the visit Safe Communities Portugal raised the subject of what3words a geolocation system that has divided the world into 3 metres squares. This is used by some emergency centres overseas primarily in UK but not yet in Portugal. This has been followed up following the visit and is being looked into.

David Thomas

President

Safe Communities Portugal