SIC News Interview
Geographer António Bento-Gonçalves argues that Portugal knows the areas vulnerable to floods and storms, but continues to fail in preparation, in communicating with the population and in protecting the most fragile.
For António Bento-Gonçalves, the problem is no longer knowing where the risks are, but rather the inability to adapt plans, infrastructures and messages to a reality of increasingly frequent extreme events.
In an interview at the specialist in territorial management recalls that the areas most susceptible to flooding have been well identified for decades.
“In relation to floods, we already know this very well: Ponte de Lima, Porto, the Tagus, Baixo Mondego, Alcácer do Sal. They are very well defined”, he states, highlighting that the real challenge lies in response and prevention. In the case of storms, he explains, “there is no region that is more prone, because it all depends on where they enter”.
António Bento-Gonçalves considers that municipalities have important instruments, but warns that they do not keep up with the current climate reality. “We will have to adapt all our plans, from spatial planning to Civil Protection, because we are in a climate emergency situation”, he argues.
In Bento-Gonçalves’ opinion, communication is one of the biggest weaknesses: “A simple SMS is very little. Messages have to be clear, targeted and adapted to the people”he states. For the geographer, the lack of effective communication worsens social injustices: “Those who suffer most are the poorest, the oldest and the most isolated”, concluding that without an integrated strategy the country will continue to “always chase losses”.
