An examination of the damage caused by the fire in Odemir in the Beja region will be carried out until September 12, until the government decides on the provision of support, the Minister of Territorial Unity announced this Saturday.
“It’s time to do a thorough damage survey and start getting some information and planning support,” Minister Ana Abruñosa told reporters in São Miguel, São Teotónio parish, Odemira.
The minister spoke after a meeting with association leaders and mayors of the territory on the damage caused by the fire, which is believed to have been suppressed on Wednesday, held at the Center Sociocultural de San Miguel.
Ana Abruñosa said a new meeting has been scheduled for September 12, also in the municipality of Odemira, noting that by then there will already be “final damage data and maybe even the idea of concrete support.”
“If we don’t know the problems, how are we going to create measures,” he asked.
According to the territorial unity official, the government still does not have “accurate data on the number of permanent homes and tourist units” destroyed by the flames, “and even absolute certainty about how many hectares burned.”
“When we develop measures, we must have a reliable overview of the losses,” because “support is money from our taxes, and we also need to be accountable,” he stressed.
While acknowledging that “people have been hurt” by the fire and that “they are rushing to help,” Ana Abruñosa warned that the government could not create support measures “as if it had unlimited resources and didn’t know what it was about.”
The minister, who began her trip to Odemira with a visit to the command post set up in São Teotoniou, also said the government’s support is for “those with insurance” and “for the part that is not insured.”
“In general, support is irrevocable,” he continued.
According to the minister, the government can use the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) to create an integrated forest management area and funds from the Portugal 2030 program to restore biodiversity in the area affected by the fire.
“In the case of permanent housing, there is a measure that is always open, namely the Gateway through the Institute for Urban Housing Rehabilitation (IHRU), he added.
At the end of the meeting, Ana Abrunosa, accompanied by the mayors of Odemira (Beja) and Aljezur (Faro) and other officials, visited Odeseix, in this Algarve municipality, and observed the destruction caused by the fire from above. .
The fire, which started on the 5th and was declared subdued at 10:15 a.m. on Wednesday, remains under surveillance.
A rural fire in an area of bush and pine forest broke out in the area of Baiona, in the parish of Sant Teotoniou, municipality of Odemira, in the middle of the day on the 5th and penetrated the Algarve municipalities of Monchique and Aljezur.
The area of ignition is about 8400 hectares in a perimeter of 50 kilometers.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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