Only one merchant in Porto affected by floods in January will receive support

The Northern Regional Commission for Coordination and Development (CCDR-N) considered only one of the seven applications submitted by Porto traders affected by the January 7 floods suitable for the support system, the organization said on Tuesday.

In response to Lusa, CCDR-N said it had received a total of seven applications from Porto traders to the Capacity Replacement and Competitiveness Support System, the creation of which was approved by decree-law on January 11.

“Of these seven applications, only one was considered acceptable, and this approved support in the amount of 1,705 euros,” the commission added, without, however, specifying why the other six applications were not considered acceptable.

Also in response to Lusa, the Chamber of Porto stated that traders affected by bad weather received support from the Municipal Commerce Department in filling out applications for said support, but sent clarifications to CCDR-N, the organization managing the applications.

The municipality of Porto registered 150 requests for help in less than two hours on January 7 due to flooding in houses and on public roads, mainly in the city center, a local civil protection source told Lusa the same day.

A month after the flood, only nine of the 172 affected businesses had submitted complete information to determine the damage, the municipality said at the time.

The Porto City Council informed Lusa that between 7 and 12 January, information was recorded concerning 172 commercial establishments in the affected areas, namely: Praça Almeida Garrett, Largo dos Loios, Rua Trindade Coelho, Rua das Flores, Rua Afonso. Martins Alho, Calle Muzinho da Silveira and Calle São João.

Of the 172 institutions, 17 have already determined the approximate cost of losses, but only nine have sent complete information about damage caused by bad weather.

According to the municipality, 75 confirmed that they had not suffered any damage or loss, 40 were still assessing the damage caused, 32 were closed or the person responsible was not present during the visit, and eight reported only that they had fallen. in the accounts for the period when the stores were closed.

In late December 2022 and early 2023, the Northern region was hit by bad weather due to intense rainfall, causing damage such as flash floods, landslides, mudslides and intermittent flooding.

At a hearing of the Public Administration, Spatial Planning and Local Government Commission, CCDR-N chairman António Cunha said in February that losses caused by bad weather in the North amounted to 60.5 million euros, not including the private sector.