Lisbon council has signed a protocol with Japan’s Hyogo Institute designed to give the Portuguese capital more tools in the eventuality of natural disasters. The document was signed on Monday, during a commemorative conference entitled “The 1755 earthquake – Resilient Lisbon”. Hyogo’s president Makoto Iokibe explained community help in cases of earthquakes and other disasters is key. The new agreement sees the council gain a new responsibility in this regard, explained Lisbon civil protection councillor Carlos Manuel Castro.
Ironically, community response to a natural disaster was ongoing in the Algarve as this protocol was being signed.
Civil protection services were being buoyed by a wave of local support coordinated through the Albufeira SOS Facebook page.
This far, donations of help have been both physical and practical – but a Red Cross appeal is due to be launched to which financial donations can be made.
For more information, see the Albufeira SOS Facebook page which has managed to amass over 3,890 in the space of little more than 20 hours.
