Depression Charles brings 1,630 incidents to Portugal as government lifts alert

Alert lifted after a weaker storm

Depression Charles reached mainland Portugal on Wednesday, 11 November, after splitting into two cores that hit far more softly than the models of the Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera (IPMA) had projected. Prime Minister Luís Montenegro formally lifted the national situation of alert and shut down the government crisis centre (CorGov) late in the day, ending the emergency restrictions that had covered the whole country. The alert was not renewed and was due to expire around midnight. Minister of Internal Administration Luís Neves said the government had at one point considered placing only half of the mainland under alert before opting for the full territory.

Damage and disruption on the day

The national commander of Emergency and Civil Protection, Mário Silvestre, reported more than 1,630 occurrences during the storm, including 881 floods. Civil Protection had received more than 500 emergency calls by lunchtime, and the figures reflect the day's count as reported that evening.

Total occurrences1,630

Floods881

Total occurrences

1630 occurrences

Floods

881 occurrences

Data from the article text

Air travel took the heaviest blow. About 380 flights were suppressed at national airports, and Lisbon's Humberto Delgado airport alone accounted for 310 cancellations, leaving thousands of passengers without immediate options in the terminals.

National airports (about 380)380

Humberto Delgado airport, Lisbon310

National airports (about 380)

380 flights

Humberto Delgado airport, Lisbon

310 flights

Data from the article text

In Trás-os-Montes the rain was persistent but caused no significant incidents. Road and air links between the region and the coast were cancelled ahead of the storm's forecast move north, and navigation on the Douro was restricted with small boats barred. There was no immediate flood risk, as the dams still had large storage capacity.

Government defends the precaution

Montenegro rejected claims that the government had rushed its warnings or deliberately presented a worse scenario than the one that materialised. He framed the decision in terms of proportionality.

“Objectively, it is better that we do not take risks that, from the point of view of proportionality, are excessive in light of what science and technical knowledge can anticipate.”

Montenegro said that had the first forecasts come true, the prepared arrangements would have worked, and he praised the civil protection system and Neves for the response. Neves said that, had the storm not split, the country could have faced a colossal tragedy, and that without the restrictions the roads would have been full and rescue would not have reached the incidents. Montenegro rejected the idea that the measures favoured the capital, saying the state protects equally someone isolated in the mountains and someone in an apartment in Greater Lisbon.

Business and political criticism

Gustavo Paulo Duarte, president of the Confederação do Comércio e Serviços de Portugal (CCP), said the measures were excessive. He accepted that prevention was mandatory and recalled the cost of storm Kristin in January.

“Prevention cannot mean stopping the country, nor treating every citizen as someone incapable of looking after themselves.”

He listed the costs of the alarm as schools and public services closed across the country, medical appointments postponed, empty shops and restaurants, and a lost working day for thousands of businesses and families. Duarte also urged the government and opposition alike to show good sense, saying a storm is not a matter for partisan dispute. Montenegro answered the business criticism with irony, saying he would rather be accused of excessive caution than hear that the government had failed to protect businesses. The government had built its approach around prevention after the storms of last winter.