Meteo Trás os Montes – Portugal
Damage caused by bad weather, in Pombal
The president of the Parish Council of Meirinhas, in Pombal, anticipated losses of around 500 million euros, stating that of the 180 companies in the parish, 170 “are without a roof” due to the Kristin depression. Most of the homes in that municipality were damaged.
“Right now, I quantify more than 500 million euros in losses only in the parish of Meirinhas”, stated the president of that council in the district of Leiria, João Pimpão.
“In 95% of my parish people are living in the rain”he added, to the Lusa agency.
According to the mayor, one of the companies in the parish, Adelino Duarte da Mota, which “supplies 80% of the paste for national ceramics, has more than 30 million euros in losses”.
“The factory went up and ran [devido ao vento]the national ceramics sector is at risk”, he warned, adding that at the company Transportes Central Pombalense “the roofs all flew off, there are more than 10 million euros in losses”.
João Pimpão added that “all companies, but all, all, all, that have infrastructure, have their machines in the rain”and warned that if generators are not installed in the largest companies in the parish there will be “incalculable losses”.
“This is very, very, very difficult, very hard, this is a disgrace, it is a shame, it is horrible”he reported, warning that the parish has no electricity or telecommunications.
Most houses with damage
A almost all of the homes in the municipality of Pombal suffered damage due to bad weather, announced the Chamber
In a statement sent to Lusa, the municipality warned that the reconstruction requires a financial effort that exceeds the municipality’s capacity.
“With regard to residential buildings, preliminary surveys point to widespread damage throughout the municipality of Pombal, covering the 17 parishes that make it up, in a geographical area of approximately 626 square kilometers, with an incidence that approaches all homes, highlighting the catastrophic dimension of the impact recorded”, it reads.
For the Chamber, the interruption or limitation of the activity of affected units “represents a serious risk for the continuity of production chains and could put thousands of jobs at risk, with economic and social impacts that largely go beyond the local and regional scope”.
