Government: Communications outage news in Portugal

Marcelo calls for swift responses for affected communities, but warns: "This will be a much longer effort than expected"

In Alvaiázere, "more than 95% of the residential and commercial property stock was affected"

The president of Alvaiázere's Municipal Chamber, João Paulo Guerreiro, assesses the situation in his municipality, which he described as severely “devastated” by the passage of storm Kristin. According to the mayor, “it will be difficult to restore the entirety of the electricity supply”, at a time when, more than a week after the storm, only 60% of customers already have electricity — a situation that also looks pessimistic regarding communications, as was evident during the interview with CNN.

All parishes in Oleiros are without electricity and communications

The mayor said he is in constant contact with E-Redes and mobile communications operators, but emphasised that “the situation is very difficult, despite teams being on the ground”.

Mayor of Ferreira do Zêzere cites Government's lack of leadership: "Either we shout and ask for help or no one gets through here"

Bruno Gomes, president of Ferreira do Zêzere, says the municipality still has more than 85% of its territory without electricity and communications after the storm and criticises the Government's “lack of leadership”.

GNR in Sertã provides a patrol to enable contact between family members

Officers are providing transport to relatives of people who are without communications or electricity due to the severe weather.

Batalha town hall distributes paper notices door-to-door due to communications problems

The Batalha town hall is distributing paper notices door-to-door to residents because of communications problems, the mayor told the Lusa news agency; he is organising a volunteer clean-up of the municipality today. “Yesterday [Friday], as there was no communication across the municipality, we did that — distributing information leaflets...”

Storm days: life without water or power and, for many, without work

Hundreds of businesses have been destroyed between Leiria and Pombal; some do not know if they will reopen. Thousands of people are without power, water and communications. A trip to the villages where the nights seem endless.

Residents of Pedrógão Grande forced to fend for themselves after three days without electricity and communications

Residents of Pedrógão Grande remain without electricity and communications for a third consecutive day and complain of a lack of support from public authorities, particularly in the parish of Graça, the area of the municipality hardest hit by Storm Kristin.

Damage 'quite severe' in Porto de Mós

The mayor of Porto de Mós, Jorge Vala, said today that damage in the municipality caused by the bad weather 'is quite severe' to public buildings, businesses and homes, and that the municipality remains without communications or electricity.

Is Portugal still poorly prepared to respond to disasters?

Leiria is isolated without communications and electricity. Disaster response has improved in recent years thanks to lessons learned from past mistakes, but there is still much to do. And is the CDS experiencing an internal conflict?

In Figueiró dos Vinhos, "anything that can happen, does"

The municipality, like many others, has been left without electricity, without communications and, in some parishes, without water. Problems are expected in holding the presidential elections, and significant flooding is anticipated.

Restoration of communications 'remains complex' and 'will take longer than during the blackout', admits Anacom

The communications situation after Kristin 'remains complex' and is not comparable to that experienced during the blackout because the depression's passage destroyed infrastructure, Anacom told ECO/eRadar. The restoration of services is expected to take longer than in the blackout — 'a few more days.' 'The communications situation remains complex. Contrary to what ...'

Anacom points out that the main problem is not the restoration of power but the destroyed infrastructure

Sandra Maximiano, president of Anacom, admits that 'the situation remains very complex' and that 'there has been little change compared with yesterday', despite thousands of professionals on the ground trying to restore communications as quickly as possible.

"We are completely desperate." Mayor of Figueiró dos Vinhos asks for help and declaration of a state of calamity

The mayor of Figueiró dos Vinhos, in the district of Leiria, on Thursday asked for help and for the declaration of a state of calamity, warning that the municipality, due to bad weather, is “living through one of the worst moments in its history.” “I'm calling from the firefighters' satellite phone because, in fact, we have no communications. No network ...”