The president of Coimbra City Council revealed to CNN Portugal who asked the Government “to maintain the state of calamity in the region next week” and explained that controlled releases are being made in the Aguieira dam to prevent flooding in urban areas.
“Our dam is Aguieira. It is completely full and we have been carrying out controlled releases. We have controlled floods. The concern is, with APA, that we monitor, hour by hour, this flow. Our biggest concern is from Sunday night onwards, there is a forecast of a lot of rain. We are working with parish councils and IPSS, removing animals from the kennel, I warned you not to park and walk along the riverbank. Firefighters and GNR are monitoring. Today and tomorrow there is no such risk and we are taking the opportunity to empty the dam, to create storage capacity. With the rain it may not be enough. Fortunately or unfortunately, the population of these areas is already used to it. We already know, in case of a major emergency, where to place people in homes. We do not have a lack of information”, stated Ana Abrunhosa.
The mayor said that in Coimbra there are still “thousands of people without electricity”but recognizes that the municipality he presides over is not the most affected. “Leiria, Marinha Grande, Pombal and the Castelo Branco area were greatly affected. Without electricity, there is no water pumping. Falling trees also caused high voltage poles to fall. It is very dangerous to cut trees when they are entangled in electrical wires. The biggest concern at the moment is the lack of electricity”, he stressed, highlighting that the “priority is to save lives and animals”.
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