Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 24^th May 2023

Good morning – Firstly thanks to thank our great team of volunteers at Safe Communities Portugal who attended the 8^th international Wildland Fire Conference in Porto where an E-Poster of our work was displayed; holding a meeting with the foreign community in Braga, having a stand al ALGARSAFE’23 in Portimão, the presentation on Risk awareness at ALGARSAFE’23 and the presentation at Eupheus International School in Loulé – an unprecedented number of events in such a short period of time for Safe Communities. Thanks therefore go to: Jane, Antonia, Susan, Jessica, Fernanda, Mike, Lilia for their hard work during the planning/implementation stages.

For us at Safe Communities Portugal attending the 8^th International Wildland conference in Porto as a delegate was an enlightening experience but looking at the future a sobering one as far as wildfires are concerned.

The conference attended by around 1600 participants from 80 countries including three of us from Safe Communities Portugal listened to a selection of the 200 presentations covering amongst other: planning and preparation, prevention and fire suppression, risk handling, communication and international co-operation.

The main theme of the conference was enabling an integrated management approach to wild fires involving not only governments, but also academia, civil society, industries and the community; the focus being more on prevention rather than suppression only, which had previously been the case. This may seem obvious, as if all fires could be prevented then there would be no need for suppression. However this is not the case and as we learned.

Globally recent extreme weather events have caused unprecedented damages and impacts on communities, economies and the environment. Climate change is the key driver behind the growing occurrence of extreme wildfires. Under projected warning, wildfire frequency and severity are estimated to increase, calling for a fundamental shift in wildfire management to focus on climate change adaptation and wildfire risk prevention.

We therefore all need to be prepared. As a first step we all need to understand the risks as without understand risk, we can’t manage it and be prepared.

This year will be a more complex year that last year, when in Portugal there were many fires over 80% being in the north.

The risks of fires extends extend well beyond southern Europe basin and last year there were wild fires in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, and as far north as Finland. At the wildland fire conference I spoke to a forestry director from Ireland and we discussed the fires that affected western Ireland last year, which proved difficult to extinguish, due to their remoteness. Having discussed with him he saw parallels with the fires we also experienced in the northern parts of Portugal last year particularly in Braganca and Sera da Estrela.

So sharing knowledge, experience and co-operation between countries is vitally important in tackling a common threat.  In global terms, vulnerabilities have increased and that we are more and more likely – in various parts of the world – to have more complex and larger events and international cooperation is absolutely critical in this matter”.

For us in Portugal what can we expect this year? Well so far in April we have had record air temperatures and the type of weather conditions more associated with late June than April. All this means that we need to not only be prepared, but need to inculcate within the population a “culture of preparedness”, meaning that we have to live with fires, with the aim of reducing the impact on populations and communities.

Have a good and safe week ahead

News

Drought: excessive consumption of water and without authorization are a concern in the eastern Algarve

Golf courses with excessive consumption and irrigation without authorization must suffer water cuts in the event of restrictions on consumption in agriculture, defends the Association of Beneficiaries of the Sotavento do Algarve Irrigation Plan.

Golf courses with excessive consumption and irrigation without authorization must suffer water cuts in the event of restrictions on consumption in agriculture, warned the president of the Association of Beneficiaries of the Sotavento do Algarve Irrigation Plan.

Speaking to Lusa, the president of the association that manages the irrigation perimeter in the eastern Algarve, Macário Correia, warned that six golf courses were involved that consumed 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.

The irrigation association has “serious concerns about the situation”, because water consumption in this campaign is about 20% above the same period of the previous year and the Odeleite and Beliche dams have a lower storage level than last year. Macário Correia even stressed that the association has already communicated in writing, both to the golf courses and to farmers who are in areas not authorized to use water, that, given the situation of restrictions that may be imposed in the short term, they will have to “to count on it”.

The director of the association considered that the situation “is delicate” and guaranteed that he would also speak with the managers of the golf courses, because “it is very complicated” to have cases that required 300 cubic meters of water and used 600 and that “at this moment I they have already used 60% of the appropriation they require for the year”.

There are also at least 200 hectares of agricultural irrigation, outside the irrigation perimetre , which collect water inside the perimeter, but water outside without authorization.

“The water that exists in the reservoirs, first of all, is for drinking, it is for the urban cycle, then it is for agriculture and, within agriculture, if there is not enough for everyone, we have to cut it somewhere”.

At least 15 detainees and 29 defendants in GNR operation in Greater Porto

The operation involves more than 300 operators and is related to an investigation into thefts from homes, inside vehicles and commercial establishments across the country.

The GNR mega-operation that is taking place this Tuesday in the Porto district resulted in at least 15 people arrested, 29 accused, seizures of drugs, gold, clothing, food, ammunition, money, banknotes and cars, he added.

Speaking to Lusa, at 13:00, Lieutenant Colonel Adriano Resende, from the Maia GNR sub-detachment, explained that searches had been carried out so far in the municipalities of Vila Nova de Gaia, Maia, Matosinhos, Paços de Ferreira, Porto and Gondomar.

The detainees, he said, are between 25 and 85 years old.

“So far, and there is still another search to take place (…), 29 ammunition, a kilo of gold, hashish, three vehicles, 20,000 euros in cash, 50 euros in counterfeit banknotes, an unspecified amount of clothing, food (meat, cod, ham and shrimp), costume jewellery, branded watches and computer equipment”, he listed.

The operation, which involved over 300 operators and by 1:00 pm, had already resulted in 29 people being accused, including 15 arrested, two of whom were arrested in whilst caught in the act for possession of drugs, illegal possession of a weapon and counterfeit bills. .

Those involved would be part of a criminal network that was dedicated to theft from homes and commercial establishments across the country.

 

Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 10^th May 2023

Good morning – There has been much attention recently on the drought situation both in Portugal but in particular, in Spain, but also in France as well

The French Pyrénées – Orientales department, which borders Spain’s Catalonia autonomous region, will be officially declared to be at drought “crisis” level from 10 May 2023, when bans on car-washing, garden-watering, and pool-filling will also come into effect. This first set of water restrictions is an effort to conserve water resources and prioritises drinking water above other usages.

There are currently over 40 “départements” in France, amounting to nearly half the country, which are officially at “alert” or “vigilance” levels of drought. The Pyrénées-Orientales will become the fourth district to declare a “crisis” drought level.

Turning to Portugal, in particular the Algarve my colleague Mike Evans has written an excellent report for today on the drought situation drawn from various sources of information and what is being done to address this issue. He compares various areas of the Algarve and in particular the serious situation facing farmers in the east. Please read the Algarve Report today – thank you Mike

This is mirrored in a feature by Antonia Vignolo a consultant in disaster management and climate change adaption, in a feature for the Algarve Resident out tomorrow, in which she states that there are different measures that governments can take in order to mitigate the impacts of droughts.

Public awareness sessions about water scarcity and conservation can prompt individuals to adopt water saving practices. Recycling and reusing wastewater can help to conserve water resources and reduce the demand for freshwater during droughts. Developing water storage facilities such as dams, reservoirs, and aquifer storage and recovery systems can help to store water during wet periods and supply it during droughts.

Other practices include implementing measures to reduce water demand such as promoting water-efficient technologies, developing drought-tolerant crops, and reducing water-intensive activities. And Adopting land management practices such as reforestation, soil conservation, and reducing soil erosion. Thank you Antonia.

So as you can see this is an issue which is at the top of our minds on our team at Safe Communities, as there are bound to be an increasingly severe impact as droughts intensify – as they will. If you are purchasing property in rural areas we recommend that you do as much research as possible on water supply, as boreholes in some areas are running dry, with owners therefore having reply on water delivery to their homes.

Another impact apart from drought, is that high temperatures and lack of rainfall are related to rural fires. On 18^th to 20^th 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.

On Saturday 20th May from 12.00 to 13:00 hrs there will be group presentation with questions and answers on “Disaster Risk Communication for Foreign Communities” facilitated by Safe Communities Portugal. This session will be delivered in English, involving the different players in risk communication and interpretation of warning and alert systems, with the participation of: Republican National Guard, Institute of Nature Conservation and Forestry, National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority and the Municipality of Civil Protection of Portimão.

This is for the foreign community and the presentations will be English There will be much to learn from this as by understanding what, when, and where a disaster might happen, how severe it could be, and who would be most affected. If we don’t understand risk, we can’t manage it. So we ask you to attend.

Registration at the ALGARSAFE’23 secretariat (desk) on the day or by email: eventos@ahbvp.pt. Free registration, limited to the number of places available.

Our team at Safe Communities wish you a safe week ahead.

News

Average Speed Cameras

The new average speed cameras that are planned to be introduced are already being tested in 14 locations. There is still no date for entry into operation. Know where they are and how they will work.

How Average Speed cameras work

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.

Where are they being tested?

Portugal acquired 10 medium speed cameras that will monitor, on a rotating basis, 20 locations with high accident rates. At the moment, the National Road Safety Authority (ANSR) is testing them in 14 locations covering national roads, motorways and complementary itineraries, namely on the IC1, in Beja; on the A1 and EN109, in Coimbra; on the A6 and IP2, in Évora; on the EN10, on the EN6-7 and on the IC19, in Lisbon; on the A3, in Porto; on the A1, in Santarém; and on the EN10, EN378, EN4 and IC1, in Setúbal.

What is the difference between a fixed camera and an average speed camera?

Both speed cameras have a deterrent effect and generally force most drivers to reduce speed. Fixed radar works best on a black spot (ie a specific location on a road where serious accidents systematically occur, exacerbated by excessive speed). The average speed radar, on the other hand, is more suitable for roads, where there are sections of a few kilometres with high levels of accidents, and can monitor several lanes.

ANSR’s ambition (supported by experience with this equipment abroad) is for drivers to reduce the speed of movement on these sections and, with that, a decrease in the number of accidents. Traffic speed is one of the main causes of road accidents, in particular accidents with serious injuries and fatalities.

Will the speed cameras be placed at the same distance on all roads?

No. The distance of the installation of the radars and, consequently, the area controlled by the authorities, will depend on the characteristics of each section. Although, on average, these devices cover areas of up to 10 kilometres, they will not stay that far on all roads.

Everything will depend on the specific conditions of the portion of the road to be inspected. According to ANSR, there will be sections that will be between three and four kilometres apart.

Will drivers be warned of the existence of speed cameras?

Yes. In addition to the on-site signage (a traffic sign, H42, was created in 2022), the location and date of entry into operation of the radars will also be published on the ANSR website. There is still no date for the start of operation of the equipment.

Citius computer system that serves the courts collapses

The alert was given by the Union of Judicial Employees, which ensures that the system has collapsed across the country as a result of updates that could last until the end of the week. The Ministry of Justice guarantees that it was “a momentary unavailability, for a period of less than 20 minutes” and that the situation is already normalized.

The Union of Judicial Employees (SFJ) warned this Tuesday that the Citrus computer system “collapsed” across the country, as a result of updates that could last until the end of the week, related to the electronic drawing of processes.

António Marçal, president of the SFJ, told the Lusa agency that he had information that these updates relate to the entry into force this week of the new regime for the electronic drawing of cases in the courts.

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”.

“Contrary to what was conveyed through some media, this interruption is not related to the development work to make available the new model for electronic distribution of processes. The normal operation of all systems has already been re-established, after updating the said equipment”, underlined the cabinet of Minister Catarina Sarmento e Castro.

The SFJ pointed out that the problem arises at a time when there are already several other delays in the courts, namely because of the strikes that judicial officials have carried out.

He exemplified with the case of the Court of Seixal, where there are processes for distribution since January 2023, while in the Public Ministry of Seixal the processes to register and distribute are about 2,000, papers to register about 1,500, emails to handle more than 600.

 

Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 3rd May 2023

Good morning – Yesterday the President of the IPMA, Miguel Miranda, forecast in the coming months the continuation of high temperatures, absence of precipitation and very high fire danger. He added that the objective is not to be alarmist, but realistic and to act preventively.

Since February we have had little precipitation. The probability of precipitation from here until the summer is low and, therefore, we will have tension in many areas, in the environment, in supply, in dams, resulting in fires. Miguel Miranda stressed that the risk of fire will have high levels, highlighting that everyone has to prepare for the summer and balance the economy with the lives of citizens.

He added that February was a hot and dry month and April was marked by three heat waves, with 89% of the territory in a drought situation, with 34% in severe and extreme drought (South Region).

The Minister of Internal Administration, José Luís Carneiro, told journalists that the Government has been raising awareness among institutions and municipalities to have fire defence plans prepared, but also people with regard to cleaning the land.

“People should go to city councils, municipal civil protection services, they should go to fire departments and try to maintain cleaning work (…) always accompanied by municipal civil protection teams or firefighters in order to who can do it while safeguarding their lives and assets”, said José Luís Carneiro.

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.

We also ask our readers to familiarize yourselves of actions to take should a rural fire break out in your area which develops to a stage which it could affect your property. It is important to have a plan of action to take and also in the event an evacuation becomes necessary. It is also essential that all family members are involved in the plan. If you have animals it is important that these are taken into account.

As we move into the summer, we strongly advise everyone, especially those living in rural areas to study the daily fire risk, to determine the risk not only in the area where you living, but also you maybe be visiting. This is posted daily on this page. As we have previously stressed the potential intensity of fires is important, as well as understanding how fires develop and spread.

There has been some great work undertaken by the security forces in the recent seizures of several large quantities of drugs en-route to Portugal as a landing point; the eventual destination being mainly northern Europe. The latest is by the Judicial Police through the National Unit to Combat Narcotics Trafficking, of around 4.2 tonnes of cocaine originating in Latin America. The drugs in question, which has a high degree of purity, was transported to Portugal by sea concealed in a shipment of fruit on pallets, more specifically bananas, which entered national territory through the Port of Setúbal.

This seizure is the result of the intense activity of gathering information carried out by the Judiciary Police, in close articulation with the authorities of other countries and with various national entities. Such drugs have considerable value, but more importantly is the damage to health and often death such drug abuse brings. This year is likely to be one of the highest in terms of drug seizures by Portugal, most being hashish and cocaine.

Our team at Safe Communities wish you an enjoyable and safe week ahead.

News

89% of the territory is in drought and a hot May is coming

The forecasts advanced by the IPMA at the meeting that also included the presidents of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) and the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests point to a “month of May that is hotter than normal and without rain”. After months with below normal precipitation values ​​and above normal temperatures.

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”.

Factors that, combined, increase the risk of fire, with the Minister of Internal Administration revealing that “ANEPC determined the constitution of 40 teams; more than 200 elements that are prepositioned in the territory to mobilize”. Reinforcing, quoted by Lusa, the importance and urgency of land clearing.

Looking at the meteorological drought, it has already spread to 89% of the territory, with 34% referring to the most serious classes (severe and extreme), affecting the Alentejo and the Algarve. On the other hand, “the percentage of water in the soil is almost zero in several areas of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, in the centre and south of the Continent”.

“The probability of precipitation from here until the summer is low and, therefore, we will have tension in many areas, in the environment, in supply, in dams, in fires”, he said, quoted by Lusa, the president of IPMA. The Minister for the Environment reaffirmed that “measures could be taken from a contingency point of view” given the lack of supply capacity in some areas of the country.

Mosquitos in Portugal are “Under control”

We have entered mosquito season. From May to October, technicians working in the REVIVE surveillance program have their hands full. It is necessary to know the species that enter the country and where they live. In recent years, Aedes albopictus, the vector of the Dengue, Zika and Chikungunya viruses, has been a major concern, but has so far been controlled. “It is unlikely that there will be outbreaks for the time being”, says an INSA researcher speaking to DN.

In the biologist’s lists, there are at least 100 invasive species in the world, but there is only one mosquito, Aedes albopictus. And it is this that is now cause for concern. However, in Portugal, 40 species of mosquitoes have already been identified. Aedes albopictus (Asian Tiger mosquito) is of Asian origin, originating in Japan, and a vector for Dengue, Zika and Chikungunya viruses. The researcher at the Department of Infectious Diseases at the National Institute of Health Ricardo Jorge (INSA) and coordinator of the National Vector Surveillance Network (REVIVE), Maria João Alves, says that, for now, “what has been found in the country makes us believe that the species is under control and that there is a very low probability of having autochthonous cases and outbreaks”.

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”.

But this alone is not enough. That is, even if there is an abundance of mosquitoes and weather conditions are favourable for transmitting the virus to the mosquito, which would happen due to the fact that it “feeds” on human blood, the infection would only take place if the person settled in that region within the first five days as a carrier of the virus, which means that the risk of having autochthonous cases of Dengue, Zika or Chikungunya, in other places outside their natural habitat, is very low.

However, what we want is to keep the number of specimens as low as possible so that there is no possibility of transmission of infectious agents”. She stressed, being bitten by a mosquito does not mean one contracts any of the diseases (dengue, zika, chikungunya) that this species carries.

 

Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 26^th April 2023.

Good morning – Firstly I hope all those who were able to take a holiday yesterday, known as Carnation Day, had a relaxing time with some very good weather in many areas.

It was pleasing to note that there were surprising few rural fires despite an increase in temperatures and the fire risk. So far so good.  However over the next few days the temperature is set to rise well above average for April, although it appears Spain will suffer the most, with temperature of 40C forecast.

Although in Portugal it is likely to be in the region of 30C to 35C in some parts , these sorts of temperatures in April do not bode well for the summer, when we could experience heatwaves similar or more intense that last year, according to a recent statement by the Minister of Internal Administration.

In fact according to the IPMA “This will be the third heatwave of the month, if it occurs,” said Bruno Café, the first heatwave having taken place between April 2nd and 11th and the second between April 15th and 20th. According to IPMA, a heatwave occurs when maximum temperatures are at least five degrees above the average maximum temperature for six consecutive days.

Although a great deal of preparatory work has been done to tackle fires when they occur, such as addition resources (human and financial – plus more aircraft to combat fires, it is essential that the community also does its part through land cleaning. Just 5 days to go before the deadline.

During the last week, the specialist who studied the fires of 2017, Pro. Domingos Xavier Viegas, warned that, despite the occurrence of large fires being more “probable” in the Centre and North regions of Portugal, these phenomena can happen “everywhere”.

He added “Our experience shows that they can occur practically everywhere. In the regions of Central and Northern Portugal, where the topography is more complex and the vegetation is more prone to fires, it is more likely, but we have already seen large fires in regions where, at the outset, it was not expected”.

Recognizing that the country has learned some lessons from the fires of 2017, in which 114 people died, the specialist who was part of the Independent Technical Observatory and coordinated the studies requested by the Government on those fires considers, however, that it has not been “enough”, and there is “a long way to go”.

Although this was interpreted by some media that Portugal in some way is ill prepared to fight fires, this is far from the truth. As Prof. Veigas says, there is more to be learned by the scientific community and operationally how fire behave under such intense conditions and this is an issue not just in Portugal, but overseas as well. This is why there are groups such as FirEUrisk” funded by the EC which comprise various experts to study phenomena such as this, to come up with recommendations to address these problems. Safe Communities is privileged to be a member of the FirEurisk observatory and this has enabled us to be involved in the debate examining these issues as well as others.

So over the next few says with more extreme weather conditions and exposed fire risk, let’s make every effort to prevent fires and reduce the risk of them threatening rural communities – step one land cleaning!

With that our team wish you a safe week ahead.

News

Turkey honours Portuguese team that supported rescues after earthquake

The President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, honored, this Tuesday, in Ankara, the Joint Operational Force (FOCON) that fulfilled in Turkey the mission of supporting search and rescue operations after the violent earthquake of February 6th.

The head of mission of the Portuguese force, Commander José Guilherme, received the decoration insignia from Turkey, also awarded to the other international teams that were in the country to help with search and rescue work, says the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC) ), in a press release.

The Joint Operational Force (FOCON), coordinated by ANEPC and made up of 52 members of the Special Civil Protection Force of ANEPC, GNR, Lisbon Firefighters’ Regiment and National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) and six dogs, was more than a week in the Turkish city of Antakya/Hatay.

Dozens of countries continue to evacuate citizens from Sudan

A total of 138 citizens were rescued”, including “87 Ukrainians, mostly aviation specialists – pilots, technicians and their family members”, as well as “citizens of Georgia and Peru”, the main intelligence department of the Ministry of Defence, Ukrain published in a Telegram.

Also today, the Pakistani Minister of Foreign Affairs announced the withdrawal of 700 citizens from the capital of Sudan, Khartoum, with the departure of a train carrying 211 Pakistanis, adding to those who had already been transported on Monday.

According to the ministry, before this operation, 1,500 Pakistanis were in Sudan.

India today evacuated 278 citizens aboard a Navy ship that will take them to the Saudi city of Jeddah, said the spokesman for the Ministry of India, Arindam Bagchi, in a publication on the social network ‘Twitter’.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi quantified last week that more than 3,000 Indians reside in Sudan.

Operations to evacuate Indian citizens from Sudan began on Monday, sending two military planes to Khartoum and a navy vessel to Port Sudan.

According to the latest balance released by the agency France-Press (AFP) dozens of countries are withdrawing citizens, taking advantage of a 72-hour ceasefire decreed by the belligerents.

The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, announced that by the end of Monday, another 1,200 European citizens had been removed from the approximately 1,500 who lived in the country in conflict.