Category: Uncategorized

The number of displaced people due to the bad weather that has plagued mainland Portugal since Wednesday has risen to 77, with around 7,000 occurrences until 12:00 today, with two dead and one missing.

According to Pedro Nunes, commander of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), “By 12:00 there were 7,000 occurrences, involving 21,000 operations.”

The commander said that the most affected districts are Porto, Aveiro, Coimbra, Viseu, Braga and Lisbon, with most occurrences related to floods and tree falls.

Pedro Nunes also said that the flood plan for the Tagus basin was triggered and admitted the possibility of “cutting national and regional roads” in the Santarém district later in the day.

“Until 20:00 there should be a worsening of the weather, and then it is expected to begin to stabilize,” he said.

Pedro Nunes indicated the possibility of flooding in the Douro, with special attention to Régua and the mouth, on both banks, stating that the flows are “not stabilizing” and the situation “may worsen in the afternoon and evening”.

Regarding the Tâmega river, Pedro Nunes said that the flow rate dropped in the morning, but in Chaves and Amarante it could get worse again, “due to the precipitation and the incoming flows from Spain”.

“Regarding Águeda, both the Águeda river and Alfusqueiro presently have reduced flows due to precipitation and the expected runoff in the afternoon, and it is very possible that it will worsen, that is, flood again,” he explained. .

According to the commander, the situation with the Mondego river has been “manageable, with the flow rate at the limit”. Authorities are “concerned about the precipitation that will occur in the afternoon.”

Pedro Nunes also warned about the case of the Sorraia basin, since late afternoon / early evening floods can occur in Coruche.

According to information shared by the Portuguese Institute of Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) during the briefing with the Civil Protection, at 14:00 mark the beginning of a “worsening weather for the Center region, for the strong and persistent precipitation variants being generally moderate, no longer with yesterday’s intensity ”, explained Pedro Nunes.

New outbreaks of heavy and persistent rain are expected, and the districts most affected by this situation are Aveiro, Coimbra, Leiria, Santarém and Lisbon by the end of the day. Castelo Branco and Portalegre may be added to this list.

Asked about the possibility of traffic conditions on the 25 de Abril Bridge and on the Tagus river crossing in the Lisbon region, Pedro Nunes stated that, taking into account the IPMA warnings, the wind blowing “is moderate, so this possibility is not foreseen ”.

“For us to understand, yesterday was considered strong to very strong, with gusts up to 100 kilometers / hour. Today the maximum gust is 70/80 kilometers / hour, ”he said.

The Portuguese Institute of Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) has today under orange warning (the second most serious) 12 districts of mainland Portugal and the northern coast of Madeira due mainly to the sea turbulence. Leiria, Santarém and Portalegre are under orange warning also due to forecasts of heavy precipitation in the afternoon.

The IPMA has warned of the effects of a new depression, called Fabien, which will hit Portugal on Saturday, especially the North and Center, with heavy rain and strong southwest winds expected, with gusts up to 90 km / hour in the south, north and central coast and 120 km / hour in the highlands.

About one hundred high and medium voltage lines are still inoperable due to the passage of the Elsa depression, with the districts of Viseu, Coimbra and Guarda being the most affected, according to EDP Distribuição.

GNR today began Operation “Christmas and New Year” by reinforcing road patrol on the country’s busiest roads in order to prevent accidents and ensure smooth traffic flow.

For the operation, which ends January 5, the Republican National Guard (GNR) will mobilize about 4,600 military personnel from the National Transit Unit and Territorial Commands daily to provide a safe journey for road users during the Christmas season and new Year.

From today onwards, the GNR will have “special concern for the risk behaviour of drivers” which sometimes gives rise to serious accidents.

The military will be “particularly alert” to speeding, dangerous manoeuvres, overtaking, changing direction and giving way, mobile phone use while driving, non-right-hand traffic on major and complementary highways and routes and use of seat belts.

In a statement, GNR advises drivers to carefully plan their trips, avoiding the end-of-day periods when traffic is expected, to rest properly before the journey and at least every two hours, or whenever they feel the need, make rest stops and adjust the speed to the weather conditions, the state of the road and the volume of road traffic.

That security force also suggests that people remain patient in situations of high traffic intensity, which may force you to travel at low speeds, and avoid manoeuvres that may result in traffic embarrassment or contribute to the occurrence of accidents.

More than 5,400 occurrences, mostly tree falls, have been reported in mainland Portugal since Wednesday, following bad weather, according to the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC).

According to ANEPC Commander Rui Laranjeira, between 15h00 on Wednesday and 23h00 on Thursday, 5,427 occurrences were recorded, 2,862 of which were tree falls, 906 structural falls and 1,152 were floods, which affected 17,260. operational.

“Porto remains the district with the highest number of occurrences (977), but there are a number of southern districts that had fewer occurrences and are now increasing,” namely Lisbon (450), Setúbal (311). ), Santarém (313) and Leiria (396), said the commander Rui Laranjeira.

The damage caused by the Elsa depression in EDP Distribuição’s power grid has already left 157 high and medium voltage lines out of service, the company said. According to a statement from the electric, Santarém, Coimbra, Viseu and Leiria were at 11 pm on Thursday the most affected districts.

The downtown of the city of Águeda, in the district of Aveiro, is flooded due to “brutal” discharges from the Ribeiradio Dam in the neighboring municipality of Sever do Vouga, a local source told Lusa.

Vodafone has mobile network service unavailable in some central and northern regions of the country due to power outages, the official source of the telecommunications operator told Lusa today.

The number who have died remains at two with one person missing. The number of homeless stands currently at 51 and the authorities have received 4200 calls for assistance in the last few hours.

A total of 12 districts will be under orange warning for precipitation, wind or rough seas at different times until Saturday,

 

FLOOD WARNING

The Águeda City Council has already warned the population that floods may occur in the city’s downtown, due to the foreseeable rise in the water level of the river that runs through the city.

“We have already made this warning that there may be a flood in the city center so that people can take proper care to protect their assets,” Mayor Jorge Almeida told Lusa.

ROADS

The fall of a tree in Montijo, Setúbal district, killed the driver of a heavy vehicle on Thursday, said the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), which has already counted 2,941 occurrences due to bad weather.

On the two bridges – Vasco da Gama and 25 de Abril – the circulation of heavy vehicles with awnings and motorcycles is still prohibited.

The main road of the Sintra Mountains, between the Azoia and Portela and Portela Capuchos intersections , was closed Thursday due to heavy rainfall and wind intensity, the Sintra Chamber said.

The Sintra Chamber also decided to close the Kingdom of Christmas to the public, taking into account the weather conditions.

RAILWAYS

On the Northern Line: The fall of a tree over the catenary is conditioning circulation in both directions. Between V. Figueira and Santarém the circulation is made in a single way;

In the Beira Alta line: the section between Luso and Morttágua is cut due to the lack of tension in the catenary, a situation under evaluation. In the section between Pinhel and Guarda, the fall of a barrier interrupted pasage, and the situation is almost resolved;

In the Vouga line: circulation is suspended between Macinhata and Sernada;

In the Alentejo line: there is a train immobilized in the section between Moita and Barreiro due to the presence of debris in the pantograph, the structure that feeds the train with electricity. Therefore the passage is only one way.

On the 25 de Abril Bridge: Winds above 79 km / h may restrict movement of trains.

SEA LINKS

River connections between the Setubal Peninsula and Lisbon are suspended Thursday afternoon due to “worsening weather”, Transtejo / Soflusa announced.

“Due to the worsening of weather conditions, at this time, for safety reasons, are suspended all river connections of Transtejo and Soflusa, except Cacilhas,”.

ELECTRICITY

The regular supply of electricity was interrupted today “in thousands of homes” due to bad weather, with Viana do Castelo, Braga, Porto and Vila Real being the most affected districts, EDP Distribuição announced.

The Public Security Police (PSP) reported today that they seized since September 22 in Madeira a total of 729 illegal firearms and 522 ammunition of various calibers.

The note issued by the Madeira Regional Command reminds that that day came into force the Legal Regime of Arms and Ammunition, which grants a deadline of 180 days for the delivery of illegal weapons.

As for the typology of seized weapons, 334 are long fires, 159 short fires, 16 compressed air and firearm reproductions, 214 white and six are aerosols. There are 522 ammunition learned.

In addition, “27 firearms and one alarm were voluntarily handed over,” says PSP.

All weapons were transferred to Lisbon “for their destruction” in collaboration with the Portuguese Navy.

The PSP also mentions that the Center for Weapons and Explosives of the Regional Command of Madeira carried out 13 inspections of the act of veneration and one to a firing range in the region, having identified 230 citizens with license and weapon possession.

The PSP stresses that “all citizens who may have illegal or offensive weapons” must surrender without criminal repercussion or legalize their licensing status, particularly in the case of weapons of deceased relatives or purchase and sale declarations. not delivered on time, “thus benefiting from the non-imposition of a fine”.

The gun law was enacted on July 24 by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and limits the number of firearms each person can have at home.

The law, passed with the abstention of the People-Animals-Nature (PAN) party and no votes against, restricts the number of weapons that hunters, for example, can have at home and sets a deadline to resolve the issue of surpluses.

The law was the result of the committee discussion of a Government bill and bills from the PCP, Left Block, The Greens and PAN Ecologist Party.

GNR recorded 10 crimes related to abuse and pet abandonment, seized 68 animals and accused one person during a surveillance operation, the corporation said today.

The Republican National Guard, through the Nature and Environment Protection Service (SEPNA), carried out, between November 25th and December 6th, all over the country, a set of pet control actions aimed at improving the quality of life and welfare of animals.

In a statement of the operation “Legal Friends 2019”, the GNR said that it recorded five crimes of abuse of pet animals and five other crimes of abandonment, in addition to the seizure of 68 animals, 11 people identified and a defendant.

During the 12 days of the operation, that security force also detected 147 offenses for lack of registration, vaccination and electronic identification.

The GNR underlines that Christmas is a time prone to the purchase of pets, and as such, is the right time to “alert and raise awareness of the care that pets require, thus acting pre-emptively on a theme that demonstrates a growing interest and concern among the population.”

Operation “Legal Friends 2019” mobilized several military commands, in particular from the SEPNA structure and criminal investigation, who paid special attention to crimes of mistreatment and abandonment of pet animals, as well as illegal fighting between animals, offenses. In total, GNR inspected 1,051 animals.

DECO, the Consumer Protection Association, has tested seven red lipsticks, brands for sale in perfumeries, cosmetics and health stores and supermarkets. It found “traces of lead in everyone, albeit at levels below the technically avoidable limit,” reads a statement from that organization.

“In three lipsticks, we also detected MOAH (aromatic hydrocarbons of mineral oils). In view of this, DECO advises against the use of the following lipsticks:

Avril Le Rouge Hollywood 598,

Mac Retro Matte Ruby Woo 707 and

Kiko Kikoid Velvet Passion 05 Burgundy.

According to Deco, Avril lipstick, according to the labelling information, says it does not use ingredients derived from mineral oils and is certified by Ecocert as a “natural” and “biological” product. However, traces of MOAH were found, whose “mere presence is reason to advise against a product”.

“Kiko and Mac also contain MOSH and POSH in quantities greater than those considered safe, the former not even complying with the industry’s own recommendations (Cosmetics Europe),” says DECO. “Maybelline reveals acceptable levels of these substances, but it contributes to the cocktail effect, that is, to overall exposure to them,” he adds.

“The test results apply to the products indicated, not to the full line of brand lipsticks,” explains DECO. “The dyes vary with the shade of lipstick and thus the concentrations of the substances researched, particularly lead, may vary,” adds Consumer Protection.

“We reported the findings to Infarmed, who controls cosmetics,” adds DECO. “Although the quantities of substances of concern are lower than those found in other lipstick tests we have performed, they are still of concern,” they argue.

A Police Eagle helicopter, rescue helicopter, and NZDF aircraft have undertaken a number of aerial reconnaissance flights over the island since the eruption. No signs of life have been seen at any point.

Police believe that anyone who could have been taken from the island alive was rescued at the time of the evacuation. Based on the information we have, we do not believe there are any survivors on the island.

Police is working urgently to confirm the exact number of those who have died, further to the five confirmed deceased already.

As part of the recovery a NZDF ship will approach the perimeter of the island at first light to deploy drones and observational equipment to further assess the environment.

Police continue to receive information and advice from GeoNet experts to support the recovery operation. The Police Disaster Identification (DVI) team are assembling in Whakatane to await deployment.

Both New Zealanders and overseas tourists are believed to involved, and a number were from the Ovation of the Seas cruise ship. The Police 105 number can be used by members of the public to submit information regarding friends or family who might have been visiting White Island during the eruption.

People from overseas can call +64 9105 105.

They can also use the online form at the Police website here.

At the request of New Zealand Police, New Zealand Red Cross has activated the Family Links website for people wanting to register themselves as safe or register an inquiry about a loved one.

If you are worried about a friend or family member following the White Island eruption, first contact them as you normally would.

If you cannot make contact, you can register them through this website: https://familylinks.icrc.org/new-zealand/en/Pages/Home.aspx(link is external)

The friends and family of those involved remain at front of mind for Police.

Support is being put in place and Police are working to provide them with information as it becomes available.

 

 

The death toll on Portuguese roads fell between January 1 and November 30 compared to the same period of the previous year, but the number of accidents and serious injuries rose, according to official provisional data.

According to the latest report by the National Road Safety Authority (ANSR) for 11 months, 435 people died on the roads, 21 fewer than in the same period of the previous year (456).

Between January 1 and November 30 of this year, 122,322 accidents were recorded, 1,572 more than in the same period of the previous year (120,750).

In the same period, there were 2.045 severely injured people, 107 more than in the 11 months of 2018.

The MRSR also indicates that 38,332 people suffered minor injuries, 647 more than in the same period last year (37,685).

The figures from the ANSR, which gathers data from GNR and PSP, also highlights that in the last week of November (22-30 November) six people died and 48 were seriously injured following road accidents.

Between January 1st and November 30th this year, the district with the highest death toll was Porto (53), followed by Lisbon (43), Braga (34), Aveiro and Santarém (both with 32).

The district of Lisbon was the district with the most serious injuries (289), followed by Porto (209) and Faro (206).

Data from the MRSR also indicate that between December 1, 2018 and November 30, 2019, 487 road fatalities were recorded (19 fewer than December 1, 2017 to November 30, 2018) while serious injuries rose to 2,248 (plus 108).

ANSR data refer to deaths occurring at the scene of the accident or during transportation to the health facility and the figures for serious injuries refer to the accident victim whose bodily injury requires a hospitalization period of more than 24 hours.

A man in his 30s died Saturday in Ribeira Brava, west of Madeira, when he was hit by a construction machine, a local fire brigade source said.

“We moved two cars and five elements, but when the first car arrived we found that there was nothing left to do,” the same source told Lusa.

The incident occurred in the morning According to firefighters, the machine is said to have fallen from a platform in a site where work is underway, hitting the man.

According to the Firefighters of Ribeira Brava and Ponta do Sol, the incident occurred at the site of Ribeira, parish of Tábua