Thousands of incidents – some injuries
The arrival last night of Depression Martinho saw thousands of incidents called in to emergency services through the small hours – most of them falling trees and structures – and tragically some injuries (the details of which have yet to come through)*.
The injuries were registered in Lisbon where wind speeds were clocked at over 120 km/h.
As of this morning, national emergency and civil protection authority ANEPC is still carrying weather warnings âfor the next few daysâ, albeit many areas are finally experiencing a lull in the weather, without driving rain, which is allowing municipal services to start to clean-up.
For thousands, Martinho brought âthe worst windâ they can remember for a very long time. Fallen trees in PortimĂŁo – Photo: Filipe Lima/Open Media Group
Multiple roads, particularly in rural areas, were blocked by falling trees; small planes parked at Tires airport were flipped over; train lines had to be closed, again due to falling trees; various pavilions and schools suffered roof damages and thousands have experienced cuts to electricity supplies.
âWe have a cumulative record from 00:00 (last night) until 07:00 (today) of 4,214 occurrences, of which 2,314 were tree falls, 1,169 were structure falls, 643 were road cleanings, 45 mass movements and 38 were floods,â JosĂ© Miranda from ANEPC told Lusa early this morning.
According to Miranda, the most affected regions were the Greater Lisbon Sub-Region with 1,452 occurrences, the SetĂșbal Peninsula with 456 and the Western Sub-Region with 329.
The ANEPC official also indicated that 14,560 operatives were mobilised through the night, with the support of 4,901 vehicles and land resources.
In the Algarve, there was a lot of general wind damage: in Albufeira, an apartment block in Santa EulĂĄlia lost a number of tiles which were blown onto parked cars, causing âsignificant damageâ (reports say that âsome residents appreciating the situation were able to get their vehicles to safety before they suffered damageâ).
In Pombal this morning, four schools are closed because of the lack of electricity – and in the Leiria, Coimbra and Vila Real areas, 50,000 homes are, as we write, still reported to be experiencing power blackouts.
In Oliveira do Hospital, damage to the football stadium is described as likely to cost “thousands of euros” to repair.
The government has said it is aware of the “problematic situation”, guaranteeing support to people affected.
Overall, however, the damage/consequences appear to have been âmanageableâ. As the Algarveâs ANEPC commander VĂtor Vaz Pinto admits: âWe were expecting more rain.â Nevertheless, the wind does seem to have made up for the âlack of expected rainâ: in Monchiqueâs highest point, wind speeds were clocked at up to 140 km/hour.
*Update on injuries: These were not serious, according to Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas. Moedas tells Lusa: “In the rescue operations, six people were injured who are not cause for concern, including a municipal police officer and another from the public security police, two firefighters and two civilians (… It was) a difficult night for the city, with a wind of a violence not seen for a long time. We’re talking about winds of 120 kilometres per hour, the people who work here, all these firefighters, all these municipal police and civil protection staff, haven’t seen this in the city for many years, but we responded well, we responded quickly,” he told reporters.
