Applications for fire and flood support in 2022 at the “final review stage”

Municipalities have reported 131 million euros (ME) in damage and have requested support of around 60 ME due to the 2022 and January fires and floods, which are under final review, the government said on Wednesday.

According to Territorial Unity Minister Ana Abruños, 32 more applications were submitted by companies, which could represent a maximum total support of 747,000 euros.

“CCDR [Comissões de Coordenação e Desenvolvimento Regional] are at the final stage of consideration of applications and therefore, as soon as in the case of companies the conditions for admission are signed, we will make an advance payment of 20%. In the case of municipalities, the advance will be 60%,” said the minister, who was heard this Wednesday in parliament in the Committee on Economy, Public Works and Housing.

Regarding notifications of support for the 2022 fires and floods in December 2022 and January 2023, municipalities submitted 86 applications reporting losses of about 131 ME and requesting support of about 60 ME, “values ​​that have not yet been fully confirmed.”

In the case of companies, by 2 May, the notice end date, 32 claims had been filed claiming a loss of €3.9 million.

“The cost of insurance, donations or reimbursement of these ME 3.9 losses was reported to us by the companies themselves as insured at ME 2.8. applies, and if all costs are eligible, in support of 747 thousand euros, support that is at the final stage of the CCDR analysis,” said the minister.

The minister stressed that the state budget still has 91 MOEs “for the restoration of bridges and aqueducts, roads and paths, slopes and retaining walls of real estate, buildings and structures, including social housing, urban equipment, water supply and sanitation infrastructure.” .

On February 15, the Minister for Territorial Unity announced in Parliament that damage from the bad weather that hit the country in December and January had increased to 342 million euros.

The previous balance sheet showed a loss of 293 million euros and support of about 185 million euros.

Several areas on the mainland were hit by heavy rains between late 2022 and early this year, resulting in severe flooding, damage to roads, businesses and homes, and dozens of people displaced. In Alges, in the municipality of Oeiras (Lisbon district), the death was registered.

The government declared the floods that hit several municipalities in December and January to be “exceptional natural events” and the criteria for providing support to affected municipalities, companies, organizations and families were published in Diário da República in February.

According to the diploma, for these floods to be considered an exceptional natural phenomenon, the municipalities had to register a maximum daily rainfall exceeding 30% of the normal monthly rainfall calculated by the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA). as well as the minimum amount of damage suffered by municipalities in the amount of EUR 100,000 for municipalities with a population of 20,000 or less, EUR 200,000 for municipalities with a permanent population of more than 20,000 and up to 100,000 inhabitants, or EUR 500,000 for municipalities with a population of more than 100,000 residents. .

Municipalities that have not experienced episodes of more than 30% rainfall but also recorded high losses due to the “occurrence of exceptional floods and inundations” may still be eligible, provided that this situation has been assessed and validated . Portuguese Agency for Environmental Protection.

Last year, 110,016 hectares were burned in Portugal, while 10,401 fires occurred in the countryside. The most serious case occurred in August in Serra da Estrela, where 28,000 hectares of natural park were destroyed.

Resolution of the Council of Ministers in September, in which the municipalities of the park (Celorico da Beira, Covilhã, Gouveia, Guarda, Manteigas and Seia) are identified as particularly affected, as well as all municipalities in other regions of the country with an accumulated burned area in 2022 equal to or exceeding 4,500 ha or 10% of the relevant area, “which allows you to apply to the municipal emergency fund.”