The number of requests for support for rebuilding houses due to bad weather totals 20 thousand for a total of 100 million euros, said the coordinator of the Reconstruction Mission Structure for the Central Region of the Country.
“At this precise moment [quinta-feira]We have certainly already exceeded 20 thousand (…). And they were registered on the platform, because there is that issue of pre-registration, 38 thousand houses”, said Paulo Fernandes, explaining that the value relating to the 20 thousand applications is around 100 million euros (M€).
As of February 18, there were 12,625 applications, with an aggregate number of over 30,000 registrations, and a requested fund of around €75 million.
In an interview with the Lusa agency, practically a month after the Kristin depression hit mainly the Leiria region, this official admitted that there had been a slowdown in requests for support about a week ago.
“But, at this moment, we are again at a very high rate per day of new houses being applied for”, said Paulo Fernandes.
Financial support to repair the damage caused by the Kristin depression in homes is granted within a maximum period of three working days for expenses of up to five thousand euros (with photographs), which do not require inspection, and within 15 working days for the remainder, up to 10 thousand euros.
Meanwhile, around 700 professionals (architects, engineers and technical engineers), distributed throughout inter-municipal communities, will work for the councils on this work.
As for the reconstruction of houses that became uninhabitable due to bad weather and for which the budget of 10 thousand euros is not enough, the coordinator specified that, for now, “there are 179 houses in what is the Central Region framework”, to which they add “more than 200 houses” in Alcácer do Sal (Setúbal).
“This is a program that will have lost funds. It is a program that we are currently closing, to launch the tenders as soon as we have the most detailed assessment of the damage”, he said, clarifying that, in terms of housing, another front of work involves finding solutions for people who are homeless or displaced.
In the case of severely affected housing, the approach involves partnerships with, for example, the Institute of Housing and Urban Rehabilitation, intermunicipal communities and eventually even municipalities, to make “agreements and protocols with private parties, so that these entities are the ones to launch the competitive procedures”.
“We are not going to leave this in the hands of each family”, especially in a vulnerable situation, explained Paulo Fernandes.
The Mission Structure, created on February 3, found, on the other hand, and giving the example of Marinha Grande, in the district of Leiria, that “a part of the fabric that was destroyed in terms of housing” was “precarious in itself” that “it seems more appropriate not to recover the housing, but, perhaps, in some cases, even talk about rehousing”.
Asked if the perimeter of the damage has already stopped, almost a month after the Krintin depression started a “train of storms” that left a trail of destruction, Paulo Fernandes responded affirmatively.
“When we started the Mission Structure we were still experiencing, permanently, what was the set of storms that later led” to floods, landslides and “issues associated with what was also very damaging to the buildings that had already been damaged” by the “enormous winds”, he declared.
Recognizing that “almost two weeks ago” the weather gave “some rest”, the coordinator of the Mission Structure considered, however, that the weather “of people, of companies” is far from ceasing to be urgent.
“It remains urgent, but at least we can focus on what the answers are,” he added.
Between 35 and 40 thousand companies affected
The Mission Structure estimates between 35 thousand and 40 thousand companies with damage due to bad weather in the most affected area. “We believe that we can be talking about a universe of 35 thousand, 40 thousand companies affected” of the universe of companies in the most affected area, which is around 54 thousand, 55 thousand, declared Paulo Fernandes, considering it to be “an enormous number”.
Of that number, “there are already at least around 30 thousand” that have triggered measures (insurance 25 thousand and credit lines four thousand), said Paulo Fernandes, to highlight that these are not just companies in the industrial or services sector, but also agricultural ones, and in the primary sector the data points to five thousand.
The coordinator clarified that 1,100 million euros (M€) is, for now, the amount that is applied for by companies, more than one billion for the treasury credit line (in the order of four thousand companies) and around 80 million for the investment credit line.
Asked about the possibility of there being companies that are unable to survive the impact of bad weather, given that the credit lines represent debt, the coordinator mentioned the IFIC — Financial Instrument for Innovation and Competitiveness, created with resources from the unexecuted Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), announced by the Minister of Economy.
“The IFIC, which comes out of the reprogramming of the PRR, at the moment already with a line of 150 M€ that has the lost funds aspect, which can leverage around 400 M€, with reference rates of 30% of lost funds to 50% of lost funds, will come out next week”, he explained.
For Paulo Fernandes, this is a “very relevant measure” combined with credit lines, and in one of them there is “the transformation of 10% into a non-refundable grant”.
“With this measure [IFIC]obviously we started to have, in fact, much more complete answers”, he argued.
Regarding a possible increase in unemployment, the coordinator responded that there are “more than 300 lay-off requests” (suspension of employment contracts) relating to just over three thousand workers, to remember the existence of the incentive to maintain jobs and the exemption from Social Security contributions (10 thousand requests).
The coordinator of the Mission Structure admitted that the search for this set of measures “can prevent a systemic economic depression in the region”.
“At this very moment, it is too early for us to be able to define that we are out of what could be systemic damage to the region (…). It is necessary to understand how large companies where companies often [empresas] satellites gravitate, if they can actually withstand it, because they are very relevant here in our region, and then it is also necessary to go to the capillarity of small businesses, small services, to see how they can withstand this impact of some reduction in revenue that, obviously, they are experiencing”, he said.
When asked whether he anticipates an increase in litigation with insurance companies, the coordinator said that the Mission Structure is more concerned that “insurance companies do their work as quickly as possible given an unprecedented scale” in the country of having 140 thousand policies activated.
“This is the issue that concerns us, because around 10% of these 140 thousand policies were those that have been followed up until now, they are already, in a way, closed, some have even already been paid to the beneficiaries”, he clarified.
Maintaining an estimate of losses between five thousand and six thousand ME, Paulo Fernandes highlighted that “next week will be very relevant”, starting from Tuesday, when it will be possible “to have access to the overwhelming majority of loss reports from municipalities”.
There is a “brutal concentration” of damage in the Leiria Region
The coordinator of the Mission Structure said there was “a brutal concentration” of damage in the Leiria Region, arguing that the proportionality of support must be linked to the total damage.
“What I can say is that all the data I have [indicam que] there is a brutal concentration here and the Government has been very attentive to this and is also focusing on what the measures are, in the search for them, it is meeting the proportion of the damage”, said Paulo Fernandes, arguing that they “have to be fair”.
And he gave examples of this impact. “When I look at the houses applied for so far, more than 50% are here at CIM [Comunidade Intermunicipal da Região] of Leiria, when I look at the demand from companies, particularly in the treasury line, which already has more than a billion euros in demand, more than 500 million euros are from companies in Leiria”, he listed.
Paulo Fernandes added that, “just from these two data, on the part of private homes and on the part of companies, it is clear that, without any surprise, when the next reports also come out on municipal damage, community damage”, among others, it will not be surprising that “50% to 60% of the damage” is also in this region.
The municipalities of Alvaiázere, Ansião, Batalha, Castanheira de Pera, Figueiró dos Vinhos, Leiria, Marinha Grande, Pedrógão Grande, Pombal and Porto de Mós are part of the Leiria Region CIM.
The Mission Structure, created on February 3, ends its mandate on December 31, 2027, with its coordinator assuming that the energies of this entity “are also beginning to be channeled, increasingly, towards a medium-term idea, and this is very important”.
“The mayors themselves began to develop some medium-term plans”, he highlighted, also mentioning the Government’s decision to create the PTRR.
PTRR – Portugal Transformation, Recovery and Resilience is, according to the Government, a response program to the climate catastrophe that devastated several regions of mainland Portugal between January 28th and February 15th, and which aims to prepare the country “for a safer, more resilient and competitive future”.
“There is, increasingly, a medium and long-term approach to an affected region, with a perspective not only of recovery, but of revitalization”, said the coordinator, ensuring that he will seek to “leave, also from a planning point of view, strong, capable tools, oriented towards a future that can be more prosperous for this region”.
And, on January 1, 2028, Paulo Fernandes would like to be able to say that the Mission Structure did everything it could, but, above all, that it left this region better prepared than “it was before the tragic dawn” of January 28.
Eighteen people died in Portugal following the passage of depressions Kristin, Leonardo and Marta, which also caused many hundreds of injuries and displacement.
The total or partial destruction of homes, businesses and equipment, the fall of trees and structures, the closure of roads, schools and transport services, and the cut of energy, water and communications, floods and floods are the main material consequences of the storm.
The Centro, Lisbon and Vale do Tejo and Alentejo regions were the most affected.
The calamity situation that covered the 68 most affected municipalities ended on February 15th.
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