Damages to be assessed by January 15
Portugal’s government has pledged to support municipalities of Greater Lisbon affected by bad weather since Wednesday night, with local authorities asked to assess damages by 15 January at the latest, cabinet office minister Mariana Vieira da Silva has announced today.
“Support always depends on the survey of damages”, she added, saying that if possible municipalities, in conjunction with the Lisbon/ Vale do Tejo Commission for Coordination and Regional Development (CCDR) should assess the damages before the end of the year.
Vieira da Silva was speaking after of a meeting with mayors of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (AML) convened to assess the impact of flooding that caused havoc on Wednesday night in various municipalities, not least those like Algés and Alfragide where building has taken place in areas effectively ‘below sea level’.
Eleven of the 18 Greater Lisbon boroughs took part in the meeting (Amadora, Cascais, Lisbon, Loures, Mafra, Odivelas, Oeiras, Sintra, Vila Franca de Xira, plus Seixal and Almada). Not present were representatives for Alcochete, Barreiro, Moita, Montijo, Palmela, Sesimbra and Setúbal.
Besides Mariana Vieira da Silva, figures representing the government were the minister for territorial cohesion, Ana Abrunhosa, plus secretaries of state for Civil Protection (Patrícia Gaspar) and Economy (Pedro Cilínio).
