The CM of Seixal and the JF of Fernão Ferro rejected the accusations made by the Civil Protection Association APROSOC, which held them responsible for the deaths of two elderly people during the floods caused by the Cláudia depression. The local authorities consider the statements defamatory and emphasize that the causes have not yet been investigated, while APROSOC accuses local bodies of failures in spatial planning and risk prevention.
“The two local authorities also regret that, at a time when human and material losses are being experienced due to the effects of Storm Cláudia and intense rains, there are entities that come to defame and denigrate the work of those who are on the ground every day working for the benefit of their citizens”, reads a note sent to the Lusa agency.
This Saturday, local authorities regret that, “although the causes of what happened have not yet been established, we have those who consider talking about them, without any sense of responsibility or rigor”.
Reaffirming that they regret the death of the two elderly people, the Chamber of Seixal and the Parish Council of Fernão Ferro thank “all the work that the security forces, firefighters and civil protection have been carrying out in favor of the population, at a time when a storm with very serious effects hit the country and, with great effort, they gave the best possible response to the countless incidents”.
Association holds municipality and JF responsible
In a note released on Friday, APROSOC states that it is convinced that “the recent death of two elderly people inside their home, during floods in the parish of Fernão Ferro, municipality of Seixal, is mainly responsible for the municipal executive of Seixal and the parish council of Fernão Ferro”.
The association accuses the two authorities of “inertia and ineptitude” within the scope of its responsibilities “within the scope of the territorial planning that made possible the existence of that dwelling in a situation of risk, apparently without geotechnical and hydrological assessment”.
Among the municipal powers he considered have not been fulfilled are also the prevention of collective risks in the municipalitypermanent analysis of municipal vulnerabilities in the face of risk situations and study and dissemination of appropriate forms of protection for buildings in general and natural resources existing in the municipality.
The association also considered that the municipal executive exempted itself from its duties in the areas of public awareness and information among residents about preventive measures and self-protection behaviorsas well as disseminating, in the event of the imminence or occurrence of serious accidents or catastrophes, the guidelines and procedures to be followed by the population to deal with the situation.
