Snow cut municipal roads in the Viseu region and closed schools in Vinhaisa and Montalegre

Snowfall recorded overnight led to the closure of municipal roads in the north of the Viseu region, a source from the Tamega e Sousa subregional command told Lusa this Friday.

According to the same source, at around 9 am, the municipal road 553 between Resende and Feiran and the municipal road 553-1 between Felgueiras and Bigorn (already in the municipality of Lamego) remained closed.

“At the moment there are none. National Road 321 (between Castro Daire and Cinfines) has been repaired but is open from 6 am,” he added.

The National Emergency Management and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) recorded 46 incidents due to bad weather between 0:00 and 7:00 this Friday, most of which occurred in the Central Region, related to road cleaning.

The ANEPC website reports several incidents involving falling trees, buildings and snow.

Elisio Pereira, ANEPC operations officer, told Lusa at 7:50 a.m. that of the 46 incidents, 26 occurred in the central region, mainly in the Viseu area, where 15 road clearings were recorded.

“46 incidents are related to road cleaning. These were not large-scale incidents that would cause any concern,” he said.

Mainland Portugal is under an orange and yellow warning for occasional heavy rain from Wednesday, accompanied by thunderstorms, snowfall, strong winds and sea waves until Sunday.

Montalegre

According to the educational institution and firefighters, schools in Montalegre are closed this Friday and school transport did not leave due to snowfall.

“Schools are already closed, the order has been given to keep the buses on the ground, and we already have all the equipment on site that was planned to be put into operation, namely the snow plows of the fire department and the municipality,” the commander said. firefighters Montalegre Miguel Monteiro.

In a statement published on social networks, the school group of Dr. Bento da Cruz also warned the educational community that due to unfavorable weather conditions, no educational activities will take place today in schools in this municipality in the north of the Vila Real region.

In Montalegre, about 600 students study in the educational institutions of the Dutor Beto da Cruz school group, the Baixo Barroso secondary schools and the basic schools in Montalegre, Salto and Cabril.

Vinay

Schools in Vinhaisa are also closed and school transport did not leave this Friday due to snowfall in the municipality, which affected about 500 students, the president of the school group told Lusa.

“Taking into account the instructions of the municipal civil protection, teaching activities were suspended for security reasons, since there were restrictions on the movement of taxis and buses in this municipality,” explained Rui Correia.

According to the person in charge, teachers and educators who were able to leave are in the educational institution and performing their duties.

There were no road closures in the Bragança area due to bad weather at around 9:25 a.m., according to the GNR.

Boticas

School transport from the highest areas of Boticas was suspended this Friday as a precaution, leaving about 180 students at home, the mayor said.

Fernando Queiroga said there was heavy snowfall in the upper part of the municipality and municipal civil protection equipment, namely snow plows and salt spreading machines, were on site from 6 a.m.

“It is very difficult to move around, and in some places there is still no traffic at all. Therefore, there is no transport for students to a group of schools,” the mayor told the Lusa news agency.

The worst-affected areas are at altitudes above 700 meters, from Carreira da Lebre to mountain villages in the northern municipality of Vila Real district.

“Only circulation [se faz] in four-wheel drive vehicles and with great caution,” emphasized Fernando Queiroga.