“The Batalha Monastery is the most affected monument”, with an investment “in excess of one million euros” expected
The minister also highlighted the work of the monument’s teams in immediately mitigating the damage. “Stained glass windows were broken and there was rain coming in. The teams managed to find a solution within a few hours to prevent the damage from being even greater,” he said.
Regarding the remaining places of the visit, he said that “the Batalha Monastery is the most affected monument”, predicting an investment “in excess of one million euros, in the case of Batalha alone”.
In Ourém, despite being municipal equipment, the guardianship was alerted to “serious damage, namely the partial collapse of the roof”, guaranteeing technical support to the municipality.
The mayor of Tomar, Tiago Carrão, described a “devastating” scenario in Mata dos Sete Montes.
“To look there and see that is devastating, just fallen trees. Charolinha was completely destroyed,” he told Lusa, explaining that the forest was closed to the public due to the risk caused by unstable trees, as was the Convent of Christ.
The director of the Convent of Christ, Andreia Galvão, who accompanied the minister on the visit, also explained that the monument classified as World Heritage saw the destruction of a stained glass window and the detachment of two gargoyles, highlighting, however, that “the main damage was to the trees around the monumental complex”.
In Tomar, according to Tiago Carrão, alongside the ongoing work on clearing roads, cleaning and repairing roofs, concerns remain in terms of water supply and the restoration of electricity in some areas of the municipality.
“This has been the main concern, especially the replacement of electricity, because the lack of water results from the absence of electricity at the pumping stations. Until yesterday we had parishes completely in the dark, but in the meantime the supply has started to be restored. Significant progress was recorded this evening, which makes us confident that the situation will be completely normalized in the coming days”, he declared.
Ten people have died since last week following bad weather. Civil Protection recorded five deaths directly associated with the passage of the Kristin depression and the Câmara da Marinha Grande announced another fatality, to which were added four deaths recorded due to falls from roofs (during repairs) or poisoning originating from a generator.
The total or partial destruction of homes, businesses and equipment, falling trees and structures, cuts or restrictions on roads and transport services, especially railway lines, the closure of schools and power, water and communications cuts are the main material consequences of the storm, which caused hundreds of injuries and displacement.
Leiria, Coimbra and Santarém are the districts with the most damage.
The Government declared a state of calamity until next Sunday for 69 municipalities and announced a package of support measures of up to 2.5 billion euros.
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