the councils of Faro, Loulé, Tavira and Albufeira were the most affected, in December, due to the floods caused by the heavy rains, but the Algarvian mayors still don't know how much they will receive from the 185 million euros in support from the Government, announced yesterday.
Rogério Bacalhau, president of the Chamber of Faro, and Vítor Aleixo, mayor of Loulé, responsible for the two municipalities that suffered the most damage, in the first days of last month, revealed today to the Sul Informação unknown what amount will be allocated.
The Faro mayor added that, after the damage survey has been completed, an application was made by the Municipality of Faro to the support, which will have been guaranteed by the Minister of Territorial Cohesion.
At national level, the rains in December and already in January caused damages of 293 million euros, with the Government having announced yesterday that it will grant support in a total of 185 million euros.
At the press conference after the Council of Ministers, Ana Abrunhosa, Minister of Territorial Cohesion, said that «the areas most affected are municipal equipment and infrastructure, where we registered 185 million euros», as well as «national roads and railways, with losses identified with 44 million euros, and economic activities, mainly commerce and services, with 27,3 million euros».
For his part, speaking this morning to journalists at the Odeleite dam (Algarve), the Minister of the Environment stressed that «the very rapid recovery of water levels has both very positive and very negative aspects».
Duarte Cordeiro stressed that, after all, there is a lot of damage, with «10 million euros from the Environmental Fund being foreseen for the part that concerns us. Then the Portuguese Environment Agency, in contact with the municipalities, will understand which are the most important and urgent to support».
«On the one hand, we have to support the municipalities and, on the other hand, prepare the territory [for extreme episodes, such as floods]. We have, in the past, some very good examples of adaptations that we have made, as is the case of the river Leça», added the Minister of the Environment.
The Council of Ministers approved this Thursday the resolution declaring the floods recorded in December 2022 and January 2023 "exceptional natural occurrence" and approved support measures as a result of the damage caused.
This resolution, according to the statement from the Council of Ministers, "aims at identifying the emergency measures aimed at repairing the damage caused to economic activities, housing, equipment and infrastructure and water lines, seeking to ensure the basic conditions for the restoration of normality of the lives of populations and companies, without prejudice to the fact that the decision on the support to be granted is necessarily based on a rigorous and documented assessment of the damage, as well as the activation of existing insurance contracts».
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