Latest news and stories about severe weather in government in Leiria, Portugal for expats and residents.
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The mayor admits there is “some evidence of a deliberate attempt to deceive the City Council,” but also notes that applications meeting the criteria for approval are being returned due to “changes made over the weekends” by the CCDR.
The mayor states that out of 7,587 applications related to the municipality, “about 1,400 have not yet been verified” by municipal services.
Councilman Ricardo Santos warns of changes to the CCDR Centro application submission platform.
The Leiria City Council has not yet received state support following the passage of storm Kristin. Miguel Garcia, the “hero of Alkmaar”, praises Sporting's performance.
The Socialist majority rejected a Social Democratic proposal, supported by Chega, to centralise data on damage, costs, and post-storm recovery on the municipal portal.
The initiative, proposed by the PSD and supported by Chega, was rejected by the Socialist majority in the municipal council.
The Mayor admits that 25 million is not enough to rebuild the municipality following 193 million in damages. The opposition warns of the risk of losing bargaining power with the Government.
The Municipality of Leiria has unanimously approved an amendment to its Social Emergency Fund following severe weather, increasing financial housing support for families. The move follows the impact of storm Kristin, which caused structural damage and forced evacuations, alongside rising housing costs in the region. The updated policy increases the maximum support to 3,000 euros, covers up to five months of rent, and provides up to 700 euros for security deposits on new leases to help vulnerable households.
Amendment to the Social Emergency Fund now provides support of up to 3,000 euros.
The loan aims to address the 193.4 million euro losses in municipal assets.
Six weeks after Storm Kristin, students in Vieira de Leiria continue to face significant educational disruptions, with classes held in makeshift locations including containers and a former mortuary chapel due to ongoing infrastructure repairs.
Gonçalo Lopes says he refused the field kitchen and security for the generators because it “was no longer necessary”. The Mayor of Leiria responds to Nuno Melo's accusations by praising the military: they were “exemplary” and provided “decisive” help.
Leiria, rather than being the target of a recovery, is being the stage for retaliation by a noisy opponent of the Government who thought Leiria was the appropriate setting.
For Jorge Vala, President of CIM Leiria, “it is important that the CIM gets involved in a process like this, of integrated collection planned together with the Ministry of the Environment.”
As time passes, thousands of people are losing hope of receiving support to rebuild their homes. In the most affected parish of Leiria, only two out of 400 people have received support.
The Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, announced this Friday in Leiria that private owners will receive vouchers for clearing forests destroyed by bad weather, anticipating that the amount may vary between 1,000 and 1,500 euros per hectare. She stated that the legislation is ready and the project will be part of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).
The Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, announced today in Leiria that private owners will receive vouchers for clearing forests destroyed by bad weather, anticipating that the amount may vary between 1,000 and 1,500 euros per hectare.
Nuno Melo defended the military personnel who were on 'maximum alert' to assist people affected by the bad weather and accused the mayor of Leiria of not responding to messages.
The Mayor of Leiria, Gonçalo Lopes, refused to discuss phone calls on Friday, March 13, while parts of the population are still without communications due to the severe weather. This follows claims by Defence Minister Nuno Melo that the mayor failed to respond to his attempts to offer assistance after the storm Kristin. The municipality of Leiria stated that all aid was coordinated through a command post and that certain military resources were declined only because they were deemed unnecessary or already covered by existing local emergency operations.
Gonçalo Lopes stated that, since January 28, the municipality has set up a “gigantic operation,” explaining that “all aid that arrived” was integrated into the 700-person response team.
The Mayor of Leiria, Gonçalo Lopes, refuses to discuss phone calls with the Minister of Defence and highlights the municipality's coordination with the Armed Forces and other entities during the passage of storms Kristin, Leonardo, and Marta, ensuring support for the affected population.
The municipality of Leiria clarified this Friday the timeline of events during the 'most critical days of storm Kristin', detailing all contacts and requests made to the Government. The explanations come one day after the Minister of Defence, Nuno Melo, stated in Parliament that he had tried to contact the mayor of Leiria and received no response.
The Minister considers it a 'non-issue' that the immediate readiness level was only activated a week after Storm Kristin: 'The readiness level of the Armed Forces was at its maximum from the first day.'
Municipal leaders have pushed back against Minister Castro Almeida's accusations that local councils are responsible for delays in housing reconstruction support, arguing that the government failed to provide necessary resources and shifted the administrative burden onto them without consultation.
