The Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 24th May 2023
by Mike Evans
Good day to you all. Well since my last report, many areas of the Algarve have seen rain for the first time in a while which is very welcome from the agricultural and personal point of view. However, we must not forget that this is also the start of the Fire Season and we must all be vigilant even with this change of weather. A few centimetres of rain are not going to get the region out of the drought scenario but it is helping put precious water into the reservoirs. With the forecast for the Algarve to be more of the same for the next couple of weeks we can only hope that this will provide us with sufficient water to alleviate the situation as the summer moves on.
Golf courses with excessive consumption and irrigation without authorization must suffer water cuts in the event of restrictions on consumption in agriculture, warned this Tuesday the president of the Association of Beneficiaries of the Sotavento do Algarve Irrigation Plan.
The person in charge of the association that manages the irrigation perimeter of the eastern (eastern) Algarve, Macário Correia, warned that at stake are six golf courses that consume more than required and about 200 hectares of irrigation outside the irrigation perimeter, but who use water without authorization.
“We have two critical situations, one is golf courses that use – in previous years – twice as much as they require, and we have an area of a few hundred hectares of agricultural irrigation outside the perimeter without authorization”, pointed out the former president of the Chambers of Tavira and Faro.
This week Safe Communities were present at the AlgarveSafe 23 exhibition held in the Arena Portimao from Thursday to Saturday. Throughout the three days there were seminars and discussions about fire prevention as well as fire fighting techniques as there was a large contingent of Bombeiros from across the country in attendance. David Thomas, our founder, conducted a special seminar on Risk and how to manage it. This was in both English and Portuguese and was well received by those who attended.
Now a look at some of the other news from around the Algarve in the past week.
Man Arrested on Suspicion of Child Sex Abuse in Olhao
A 28-year-old man was arrested on Monday, May 22, for “strong indications” of the commission of various crimes of sexual abuse of children in the municipality of Olhão, announced the Judiciary Police ( PJ ).
According to the Southern Directorate, the sexual assaults on the minor, who is currently nine years old, took place during the year 2021, being committed by her mother’s partner.
After the investigation, various pieces of evidence were collected, such as reports of sexual assault and exposure to pornographic content. Abuses took place when the environment was fully controlled by the suspect, at his own residence, when the mother was not present.
The inquiry is directed by the Department of Investigation and Criminal Action of Olhão.
Government Minister Signs Order to Shut Nightclub in Vilamoura
The Minister of Internal Affairs, José Luís Carneiro, determined the closure of the Dice Clube discotheque, located in the Casino de Vilamoura , in the municipality of Loulé , announced the Government.
The closure will take place for a maximum period of six months after “successive and seriously disturbing occurrences of public order over the last year”.
This measure is due to the closure proposal presented by the National Republican Guard (GNR), after acts of violence that “have been registered inside the discotheque and in the respective parking lot”, the last of which took place on 14 May with use of melee weapons. “The reopening of this nightlife establishment is subject to compliance with the measures defined by the GNR to restore security conditions on site and the normal functioning of the disco”, he adds in a statement.
57 Year Old Woman Dies in House Fire
Firefighters from Faro were called to a ground floor apartment in the Urbanização Vale da Amoreira, at 06:45 in the morning. A source from the Sub-Regional Command said that only the ground floor apartment where the fatal victim was found had been affected, with no structural damage to the building in question.
According to the same source, the victim was a 57-year-old woman of Portuguese nationality and the fire was declared extinguished at around 07:22. A total of 24 firefighters, the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) and the PSP having been called in, supported by 10 vehicles attended the incident.
Eleven-month-old Baby Dies Awaiting Hospital Transfer in Portimão
The 11-month-old baby died on Friday at the hospital in Portimão while awaiting transfer to the paediatric intensive care unit at the hospital in Faro. The Ministry of Health guaranteed that the baby’s death had nothing to do with the operating model of the Centro Hospitalar do Algarve .
INEM’s paediatric inter-hospital transport ambulance in the region was inoperative due to lack of a doctor. The paediatric inter-hospital transport ambulance in Lisbon was also contacted, which was busy, and an INEM helicopter was called in, but when the medical teams were preparing to transport the baby, his health deteriorated. The child died a few hours later.
The Ministry of Health said that all means were made available to the baby, while he was waiting for a hospital transfer, and that the transport failed due to the worsening of his condition. “All clinical and technical means were made available, in permanent articulation with INEM (National Institute of Medical Emergencies), but unfortunately, at the time when the heli transport was about to carry out the inter-hospital transfer, the baby suffered a worsening of the condition. its state, incompatible with transport”, a source from the ministry told Lusa .
Questioned by Lusa about whether the ministry intends to maintain the operation of Pediatrics on a rotating basis, the same source of guardianship clarified that the baby’s death has nothing to do with the rotating operating model, which is a competence of the board of directors of the Hospital Center from the Algarve .
“The family resorted to the nearest emergency room to where they were, which is the paediatric emergency room at the hospital in Portimão, and which was open”, said the source, stressing that the paediatric intensive care unit that operates at the hospital in Faro was available to receive the baby.
The Ministry of Health stressed that the articulation between the various units of the National Health Service (SNS) “happens throughout every day of the year, so that, whenever necessary, hospitals in other regions collaborate with the Algarve in order to receive patients who need care in other institutions”. However, in this case, the Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Algarve (CHUA) “was in a position to respond” and what was outlined was an internal transfer within the institution.
“Naturally, the SNS works in a network and when an institution does not have the capacity, users are guided towards others with differentiation and availability for the purpose. This has happened in the Algarve, as in the North or Centre, whenever there is no timely response, for example, due to excessive demand, and it has worked with favourable results”, he indicated.
Woman Rescued after Paragliding Fall on Alfamar Beach
A 21-year-old woman was rescued during the morning of this Friday, May 19, after having suffered a fall while practising paragliding on Alfamar beach, in Authority .
The alert was given at 11:15 am and elements of the Local Command of the Maritime Police of Portimão , soldiers of the “Praia Segura” program, lifeguards, elements of the Volunteer Firefighters of Albufeira and INEM were immediately activated.
The Swiss woman was conscious but in severe pain, having been assisted and immobilised by the Albufeira Volunteer Firefighters.The victim was later transported to a hospital unit and the Local Command of the Maritime Police of Portimão took care of the occurrence.
Body Found on the Bank of the Alvor Estuary
The body of a man was found on the morning of this Friday, May 19, on the bank of the Alvor estuary , in the municipality of Portimão , announced the National Maritime Authority.
So far, the causes of this occurrence are unknown, the alert for which was received at 09:32, with elements of the Local Command of the Maritime Police of Portimão, crew of the Lifeguard Station of Ferragudo having been immediately activated to the place. , INEM, Judiciary Police and Portimão Volunteer Firefighters.
It is the body of a 66-year-old man, of Mozambican nationality, who was removed from the water by the crew of the Ferragudo Lifeguard Station and transported to the shore. Death was declared on the spot by INEM and the body was transported by the Portimão Volunteer Firefighters to the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences in Portimão, after contacting the Public Ministry.
The Maritime Police Psychology Office was activated and the Portimão Maritime Police Local Command took care of the occurrence.
And finally what could be a start to a trend in conservation on the Algarve-
The first Miyawaki Forest in the Algarve is growing in the municipality of Silves with 18 plant species native to the region that guarantee a balance of biodiversity and less use of water, an increasingly scarce resource.
The Native Forest project, developed by biologist Sónia Soares on a family plot of land in Mesquita, in the parish of Algoz, in the municipality of Silves, was born in March with the planting of 260 plants of 18 species native to the Algarve, which in some cases are common to other parts of the country.
“The Miyawaki forests are characterised by having rapid development, being rich in native species and bringing many benefits, both for the environment and for man, as well as for capturing and absorbing water”, among other advantages, said Sónia Soares. According to the project’s mentor, this forest system becomes self-sufficient after two or three years, with the advantage of allowing “greater retention of water in the soil and, therefore, the passage later to the groundwater”.
Sónia Santos stresses that this method will allow you to use less water: “It is not just in terms of money, but the importance that water has for us, and especially here in the Algarve, which is one of the regions of our country that is suffering the most. with drought and desertification”.
Zambujeiro, mastic, oleander, carob, cistus and myrtle are some of the species planted in the small forest of 100 square metres that the biologist would like to serve as an example to be replicated in other areas of the Algarve and even the country.
“The assumptions that we follow in this methodology make it more economical, and these forests, in terms of development, are self-sufficient after two to three years”, he said, adding that at the end of that period of time, the plants do not need to be watered. The Miyawaki method was created by Japanese botanist and ecologist Akira Miyawaki in the 1970s and has inspired the planting of hundreds of small urban forests around the world.
Miyawaki’s studies led to the development of a planting method that combines the concepts of potential natural vegetation (the vegetation that would exist on a site if there were no human intervention) and the way species interact with each other and grow to form a forest ecosystem. dynamic.
“The main [economic] income is not a measurable or physical income”, defended Sónia Soares, who also considered the role that this method has to be important in “alert people to environmental problems and the need to develop this type of projects” .
For the biologist, it is necessary to “help contribute a little bit to the improvement of the environment”, involving “the local population in all stages of the development of a project like this, whether it be the planting, or the monitoring and irrigation ”.
“And this is an important tool, because in economic terms, in terms of value, this is the best we can give these generations and future generations”, he stressed.
The principles of the Miyawaki method argue that the potential natural vegetation of the site and its structure must be identified, that is, how the different species of herbs, shrubs and trees can be combined.
The crop should be kept weed free and watered regularly for the first two years. This method allows vegetation to grow faster, which has made it successful in hundreds of small urban forest projects.
The method has shown good results, with a success rate of 97% worldwide, having invaded Europe and appeared in Portugal, for the first time, in 2021.
Until the next time,….
“If we talk about children in the 2nd and 3rd cycle and secondary schools in the region, one in three is overweight or obese. On the other hand, in pre-school, which was probably the population group most affected by the arrest of the pandemic [of covid-19], the number is more worrying: four out of 10 ”, said the professor at the Faculty of Sports at the University of Porto José Maia, coordinator of the Despertar project, which assesses the physical condition of children and young people in the Azores.
As part of the SIVICC of the National Republican Guard (GNR) in the Azores, posts will be installed in the parishes of São Roque and Ponta Garça, in São Miguel, in Monte Brasil and Praia da Vitória, in Terceira, in Espalamaca in Faial and in Santo António in the Peak.
Good afternoon to you all. With the Fire season in just its second week, there were a total of 38 fires in the Algarve and Lower Alentejo which meant the number of personnel involved was almost 800 firefighters. In addition 341 vehicles were used as well as 4 air support appliances. The Municipality with the most fires was Loule with a total of 7 during the last week. Obviously with the high winds we are seeing in the past few days and the very dry ground it is important for us all to remain vigilant and to report any smoke or flame you may see whilst out and about. If you see a fire RING 112 A false alarm is better than no alarm. My thanks to the Associação Alerta de incêndio Florestal for these stats. Now a look at some of the other news from around the region.
The arrests of people aged between 22 and 60 were carried out by the Territorial Command of Faro, through the Territorial Detachment of Albufeira.
The Câmara de Loulé will install 42 surveillance cameras in Vilamoura Marina and accesses to increase the security of thousands of people walking in the area, especially in summer.
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Another impact apart from drought, is that high temperatures and lack of rainfall are related to rural fires. On 18th to 20th May Safe Communities Portugal will have a stand at the ALGARSAFE’23 Portimão International Civil Protection and Relief Fair at the Portimão Arena and the Fairs and Exhibitions Park. Thus is initiative co-organized by the Portimão City Council and the Bombeiros de Portimão, with the support from the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC). With over 70 exhibitors there will be much to see and learn for the whole family.
The average speed cameras are different from the equipment that is already found in various parts of the national road network and that are also used by the police authorities, namely the PSP and the GNR. There are two devices that are placed at the beginning and end of a section with a high accident rate. The first equipment, equipped with a camera, photographs the license plate and the exact time of passage of the vehicle and the second registers, again, the time and the license plate. These radars then calculate the average speed between the two points to understand whether or not the driver complied with the legal speed limits on the section in question.
The Ministry of Justice reacted, however, to this complaint, guaranteeing that it was “a momentary unavailability, for a period of less than 20 minutes (between 2:05 pm and 2:23 pm), in accessing computer services and telephone numbers of Justice, due to a problem in an equipment”.
It was among passengers coming from international flights that there was the biggest increase compared to the same period last year (65.7%), with 18,402 people disembarking at airports in the region in April.
On Friday, mass takes place in the Sanctuary at 8:00 am and 9:00 am. In addition, there will be a mass at 11:00 that will take place in the Church of São José, dedicated to the sick, with the sacrament of the holy anointing.
Osvaldo Gonçalves was referring to the situation in that area of the Algarve and foresees great difficulties for the rest of the year, since water reserves that should only be consumed during the dry season, in summer, are already being used.
Meanwhile some of the Algarve golf courses want connection to WWTP to reduce water consumption.Those responsible for the two largest groups with golf courses in the south of the country stress that they have already taken measures to reduce consumption, but that they still need to start receiving more water from the Wastewater Treatment Stations (WWTP).
“Decarbonization is the future, it is our big bet”, said the administrator of the public company for maritime transport of passengers and vehicles in the archipelago, who was heard today at the Economy commission of the Legislative Assembly of the Azores, meeting in Angra do Heroísmo, following his nomination for chairman of the board of directors.
According to the Regional Command of the Azores of the PSP, in addition to those two men, the police detained, on the 26th of April, a third suspect, who was left with “the measure of coercion of mandatory periodical presentations before the authorities”.
Among the beaches distinguished with this symbol of environmental quality, there is a new bathing area, namely Calhetas da Maia, in the municipality of Ribeira Grande, and there are also records of two re-entries, one at Piscina do Carapacho and one at Praia, both located in Santa Cruz da Graciosa. There is also an exit, namely Prainha, located in Angra do Heroísmo.
It is extremely important that land cleaning continues and people are encouraged to approach councils and seek assistance when needed. Undertaking extensive land cleaning alone in increasing hot temperatures can pose risks in itself, both the risk to health, accidents and causing fires if ill prepared to undertake the burning of debris. It is better to get assistance rather than take risks.
With April being among the five hottest since there are records, with three heat waves and temperatures above 30. º. In terms of fire risk, April was “the most severe since 2003 and by a wide margin”. In addition, explains the IPMA in a statement that the accumulated burned area in 2023 “is above the average of the last 16 years, both in Portugal and in Austria, Ireland or Spain”.
However, she points out: “We cannot say that there is no possibility of outbreaks, because Aedes albopictus is a vector, and things can change at any moment, but in the surveillance that we have been carrying out in this area for over 15 years, we have never found infected mosquitoes and for these to be able to infect people, there would have to be a combination of factors, such as greatly increasing their abundance and having a person infected with Dengue, coming from a tropical area, who would settle precisely in a region of Portugal where this mosquito exists, to be able to infect mosquitoes that are not infected”.
In the Algarve there are more and more rental companies offering these scooters to tourists so this is an extremely relevant subject to discuss. The event has the collaboration of the National Road Safety Authority (ANSR), Portuguese Road Prevention (PRP) and the Faro Traffic Detachment of the Territorial Command of the National Republican Guard (GNR) of Faro, where issues such as “the legal framework and the legislation in force in the field of electric vehicles, namely scooters and electric bicycles, risks and safe behaviour when driving these vehicles and the importance of supervision”, according to the statement issued by the Event organisers.
The drought has worsened at the Bravura Reservoir , in the western Algarve, now with 600,000 cubic metres less water than a year ago, forcing farmers to look for alternatives to get around an increasingly complicated scenario.
“The team of designers is working on the project. It is expected that the project will be completed by the end of the year, so that we can launch the tender for the physical work, on the ground, to start next year”, advanced the associative leader.
In total, around 120 lifeguards are coming from Brazil to support various areas of the Algarve, such as Alvor and Albufeira, where the season officially kicks off on May 15. In the meantime, the Praia dos Pescadores beach in Albufeira was the only one guarded all year round. The municipality invested in continuous surveillance to become a year-round beach destination. Portimão is said to follow suit as it considers testing this measure on its beaches.
Seven men aged between 25 and 53 were accused on April 19 for illegal gambling in Almancil , in the municipality of Loulé , announced the National Republican Guard (GNR).
A new lounge belonging to ANA/VINCI Airports was opened at Madeira Airport in the departures hall. It is located in a privileged location on the 3rd floor, has nice views and provides comfort, quietness and light meals. It is open from 06h00 to 21h00. Executive class passengers flying with SATA-Azores Airlines, Air Nostrum, Lufthansa, Austrian and Swiss as well any other passengers will be able to use it. Passengers can book online (