Flooding disrupted traffic on the Estoran and Santa Marinha bridges in Ponte de Lima.

The Estoran and Santa Marinha bridges in Ponte de Lima are closed to traffic due to rising water levels in the Estoran and Labruja rivers, a volunteer fire commander said Thursday.

According to the commander of the volunteer firefighters of Ponte de Lima, Carlos Lima, traffic is blocked at the Estoranos Bridge, flooded by the waters of the Estoran River, and the same is happening at the Santa Marinha Bridge in Arcoselo, flooded by the waters of the Estoran River. Labruja River.

The commander also mentioned that due to the “rapid rise” of the Lima River in Ponte de Lima, Viana do Castelo district, two cars parked on the beach were flooded and at 9:20 am firefighters were still unable to remove them.

The person in charge said the civil service was asked to intervene with a crane.

Carlos Lima expressed concern about the rapid rise of the Lima River and the approach of the sea beach, scheduled for 13:00.

“The rain continues to fall. In half an hour, the water level in the river rises by about 10–20 centimeters,” he explained.

According to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), this Thursday the Viana do Castelo area is under a red warning, the most severe, due to the forecast of persistent and sometimes heavy rains.

This red warning for Viana do Castelo started at 05:00 and ended at 09:00.

The areas of Braga and Vila Real will be under an orange warning for rain until 9:00 am this Thursday, and Viseu, Guarda, Aveiro and Coimbra until 15:00.

Also due to rain, IPMA has issued a yellow warning until 15:00 this Thursday in the areas of Porto, Leiria and Castelo Branco.

The IPMA has also issued a yellow warning for the areas of Viseu, Porto, Vila Real, Viana do Castelo, Aveiro and Beja until 12:00 this Thursday due to strong winds from the western quadrant with gusts of up to 75 kilometers per hour. .