Storm Charles leaves 1,630 incidents across Portugal
More than half were floods, mostly in Greater Lisbon, Setubal and the Algarve. The prime minister said the storm hit less hard than forecast.
Storm Charles swept across Portugal on Wednesday with heavy rain, wind and rough seas, and the country's civil protection authority logged 1,630 incidents on the mainland between the start of the storm and 18:00 local time. Greater Lisbon, Setubal and the Algarve took the worst of it.
At the noon update the count stood at just 538. Six hours later it had tripled.
Nearly all of it was water. Here is how the incidents broke down at the second update:
| Type | Incidents |
|---|---|
| Floods | 881 |
| Road clearing | 312 |
| Fallen trees | 203 |
| Collapsed structures | 133 |
| Landslides | 100 |
| Land rescue | 1 |
The response grew with the count. Personnel in the field went from 2,222 at midday to 6,669 by evening, and active emergency plans rose from 23 to 34 municipal ones, plus 2 district-level plans. National commander Mario Silvestre warned during the day that "the risk is high and remains," in his words.
Prime Minister Luis Montenegro defended the precautions ("better safe than sorry") but acknowledged the storm did not have the impact the forecasts predicted. No deaths had been reported at that point.
Airports took a hit too: ANA, the airport operator, puts the number of canceled flights at about 400 across Lisbon, Porto, Faro and Madeira, most of them in Lisbon.
Lisbon and Faro are common connection points for Mexican travelers heading to Europe. Anyone flying to Portugal in the coming days should check with their airline or ANA, since the rough-seas warning stayed in force until 03:00 Thursday.
