The PAN wants the government to declare a disaster situation in the municipalities affected by the bad weather and for the Portuguese to receive financial support “quickly” to deal with the damage caused by the floods.
In a statement, the sole deputy of the People-Amimais-Natureza said “today introduced three initiatives in parliament urging the government to declare a state of emergency in the municipalities affected by the bad weather and to quickly activate the instruments of financial aid to repair the damage caused, including from the European Solidarity Fund”.
Inês de Sousa Real, quoted in the note, argues that “it is urgent to declare a state of emergency in the most affected municipalities so that aid can be streamlined to the most affected populations”.
The PAN spokeswoman wants the government to “ask the European Commission for financial support under the European Union Solidarity Fund” and for an “extraordinary increase in the budget allocation for the Municipal Emergency Fund”.
The leader also proposes to create “an extraordinary financial support to support families and businesses that have suffered losses as a result of the floods”.
Through a bill, the sole deputy also proposes that the expenditures of the municipalities with the damage caused by the floods do not count towards the debt limits.
“The aim, as during the pandemic, is to release financial resources so that it can take action and not prevent it only through legal means,” the party explained in the statement, despite not disclosing any of the initiatives .
The PAN also states that contingency plans for the homeless should be activated, asking that “there is still close coordination between civil protection services and veterinary authorities so that animals are rescued – and should not be chained up, kept indoors in confined spaces or exposed to the elements or in places that may be submerged in water🇧🇷
Inês de Sousa Real also points out that “it is more than urgent that all measures consistent with the adaptation of the area to the phenomenon of climate change”, pointing out that it is necessary “to commit to the renaturalization of urban areas , to stop new construction next to waterlines or flood-prone areas and to replace existing construction in areas vulnerable to rising water levels”.
Livre asks government and municipalities to use “all available resources”.
Livre, on the other hand, called on the government to use “all available resources” to prevent damage from heavy rainfall and flooding in the country and defended that it is up to local leaders to formulate and implement mitigation measures. to take.
In a statement, the party represented in parliament by sole deputy Rui Tavares stressed that the current moment is “of great seriousness and concern”.
“We urge the government to use all available resources to prevent damage and protect the population. So far, the lack of action has contributed to an increase in the impact of heavy rains, as exemplified by the lack of concrete guidance from the Ministry of Education in relation to the closure of schools – which led to several parents taking their children to school and a little later they were closed It is essential to strengthen resources where necessary and ensure adequate handover to guarantee information by the responsible entities, locally and nationally”, they argue.
Livre mentions that “on the other hand, it would also be up to local administrators to formulate and adopt measures to mitigate the impact of this extreme phenomenon”.
“In the case of Lisbon and Oeiras, it was up to the respective mayors, Carlos Moedas and Isaltino Morais, to provide timely information and take action with residents and parents and guardians of the municipal schools to minimize the harmful effects of the expected damage. – something we don’t think has been done, given the expected level of predictability and risk”defends.
The party believes that “the causes are already known: ill-structured territorial planning policies that allow, among other things, the waterproofing of the soil, the occupation of flood beds and slopes, endangering people’s lives and their property”, conditions that are “currently being exacerbated by climate change leading to increasingly dramatic impacts due to the occurrence of extreme weather events”.
“However, there will be time to take stock of the responsibility for the actions taken over the years. At this point, it is necessary for both the government and affected municipalities to take measures to protect people, their homes and their assets,” concludes Livre.
The intense and persistent rain that fell at dawn this Tuesday caused hundreds of incidents, including flooding, falling trees and roadblocks in the districts of Lisbon, Setúbal and Portalegre, where several evacuees have been recorded.
In the Lisbon area, the weather imposed traffic restrictions on access to the city, prompting authorities to call on people to stay home where possible and to limit travel as much as possible.
In the district of Santarém, the rains increased the flow of the Tagus River, prompting the district civil protection commission to trigger the special emergency plan for flooding in the Tagus basin, given the “very significant” risk of flooding the riverbanks. The yellow alarm was activated in this hydrographic basin and in the Douro.
In Campo Maior, in the Portalegre district, the lower part of the village was flooded and several houses were flooded, some up to the ceiling, according to the city council, which plans to initiate the municipal civil protection emergency plan.
News updated at 6:29 PM
Source: DN
