Latest news and stories about severe weather in Leiria, Portugal for expats and residents.
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.
The faces of those who held the country together. During the month that devastated Portugal, some worked non-stop to restore normality to the country. In Nuno's case, this meant rebuilding one of Leiria's main electrical arteries in record time.
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.
Thirty percent of the fleet belonging to Rodoviária do Tejo, the public passenger transport concessionaire in the city and region of Leiria, which was damaged due to bad weather, has already been recovered, administrator Paulo Carvalho said today.
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.'
The Minister of Defence stated this Thursday, March 12, that he contacted the mayor of Leiria as soon as he arrived in Portugal on January 29 and received no response, lamenting that the mayor decided to belittle those who helped him. Nuno Melo was speaking during a hearing at the Assembly of the Republic, following questions from CDS-PP MP João Almeida regarding whether he had contacted the mayor of Leiria, Gonçalo Lopes (PS), who had complained about the lack of military personnel on the ground during the storms that hit the country between late January and early February. The minister refuted claims of delays, stating that the Armed Forces' readiness was at its maximum from the first day.
Water supply for nearly 900 customers in Leiria is being maintained by a generator six weeks after storm Kristin hit the municipality, the Municipal Water and Sanitation Services (SMAS) revealed on Thursday, March 12. According to Ricardo Gomes, the administrator for SMAS Leiria, a generator remains in operation at the Casal da Quinta reservoir due to the lack of public power grid access. Without the generator, the water supply would be compromised for 895 customers in the Bidoeira de Cima parish. The generator is provided by E-Redes, while SMAS covers the diesel costs. The situation is expected to be resolved in the coming days. Since January 28, when storm Kristin struck, the company has spent 113,000 euros on fuel. While generator use should end this week, building repairs are expected to take several months. At least 19 people have died in Portugal since January 28 following storms Kristin, Leonardo, and Marta, which also caused widespread destruction and billions of euros in damages.
Gonçalo Lopes pointed to the Castle of Leiria as one of the “main infrastructures affected”.
The impact was felt in the school network, the castle, and even the stadium.
A month and a half after the low-pressure system Kristin, the most severe of the “train of storms”, the mayor of Leiria assures that he has not received any funds from the State, despite the Government's guarantees that the money is available. “At this moment, no money from the Portuguese State has reached the municipality yet,” stated Gonçalo Lopes.
The mayors of Leiria and Marinha Grande revealed this Thursday the estimated damages caused by the low-pressure system Kristin. The destruction was recorded in municipal facilities, private homes, and businesses.
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.
Gonçalo Lopes, the mayor of Leiria, discussed the extensive damage caused by Storm Kristin in a recent interview with CNN Portugal, highlighting the municipality's emergency response and recovery efforts over the past ten days.
João Guarda, a resident of Leiria, is facing severe flooding for the second time this week. He has resorted to using a log in an attempt to manage the rising water levels around his home, highlighting the ongoing challenges posed by extreme weather conditions in the area.
