Bad weather: Government launches 111 million euro plan to restore coastal areas

Damage caused by bad weather between October and February along the coast of mainland Portugal requires an investment of 111 million euros, with 15 million to be spent before summer, according to a report released this Wednesday (11) by the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA). The APA document, announced at the agency's headquarters in Porto, provides for 15 million euros to be applied by the start of the bathing season in May, another 12 million by the end of the year, 31 million by the end of 2027, and 53 million from 2028 onwards. The investment aims to address the significant impacts on the mainland Portuguese coastline resulting from storms Ingrid, Joseph, Kristin, Leonardo, and Marta, including damage to infrastructure, coastal protection structures, coastline retreat, and changes in beach morphology. The report notes that almost all mainland beaches recorded a significant reduction in sediment, highlighting 571 instances of damage out of 749 reported occurrences. The majority of incidents were in the Central region (257), with over a third related to coastal erosion (36.7%), followed by cliff instability (30.6%). Regarding the damage, nearly half (43.3%) relates to access points, followed by damage to coastal structures (21.7%) such as seawalls or rock armour, with 204 of the 571 cases reported in Ovar. The APA report also warns of a slow and gradual recovery of the beaches, which could be delayed by further bad weather in the spring. The minister admits that the support process for house reconstruction is not going well.