A wave of destructive storms has left Portugal reeling, with the death toll reaching 11 since the end of January. The most recent victim, a 64-year-old man, lost his life in southern Portugal’s Serpa area near Pias, where his car was overwhelmed by floodwaters from the Amoreira Dam vicinity while crossing a flooded road.
Lusa agency reported, based on a National Republican Guard spokesperson, that the road filled with water at an alarming speed. The flood hit its fiercest point abruptly, sweeping the vehicle away in the powerful current.
The nation has endured multiple storm assaults lately, starting with the catastrophic Storm Kristin, followed swiftly by Storm Leonardo from Wednesday onward. These events have unleashed havoc nationwide, damaging infrastructure and lives.
Prime Minister Luis Montenegro stepped in post-Kristin, which alone claimed eight lives and wrought extensive damage. He unveiled a 2.5 billion euro support initiative after a cabinet emergency session, prolonging the national state of disaster to February 8.
Key components of the package target rebuilding: grants up to 10,000 euros for uninsured homes, farms, and forestry; per-person income aid of 537 euros for affected families, maxing at 10,075 euros per family; business perks like six-month social security waivers, three-month layoff programs, and 90-day loan holidays (extendable to a year).
To bolster economic recovery, 1.5 billion euros in loan programs were greenlit for businesses, alongside government allocations for fixing roads, public facilities, and heritage landmarks.
Hardest hit by Kristin were districts like Leiria, Coimbra, Santarém, and the capital Lisbon, where at least eight perished. With Leonardo still raging, authorities urge vigilance as aid distribution ramps up to mend the profound scars left by these tempests.