Bad weather: man dies trying to cross road; more than 100 are cut

A 64-year-old man died when he tried to cross the Amoreira Dam road, in the town of Pias (municipality of Serpa). He may have been caught at the peak of a flash flood. The car was swept away by the water and was submerged.

The body of a man, already lifeless, was rescued from inside the vehicle found submerged in a line of water in the municipality of Serpa, this Wednesday.

“Searches were carried out to see if there were any other victims inside the car and there was no one else”, he told the Lusa agency, a source from the Baixo Alentejo Sub-Regional Emergency and Civil Protection Command, noting that “no one knows if you were accompanied or not”.

The car was submerged in a line of water near a dam in the municipality of Serpa, district of Beja.

It appears that the man was following an area of ​​the road that was becoming flooded when was caught at the peak of a flash flood.

The car ended up submerged in a line of water located next to the road that connects Estrada Regional 258 (ER258) and the wall of the Amoreira Dam, in the municipality of Serpa.

More than 100 roads closed

The atmospheric conditions caused by constant storms continue to force traffic cut on Highway 14 (Coimbra-Figueira da Foz)in three sections, in three other Complementary Itineraries (IC)in addition to multiple 77 national roads and 66 municipal roads.

In detail, an official GNR source told the Lusa agency that the restrictions on the A14 are located at the exit to Mallorca and at the ‘nodes’ connecting to the A17 at Casal do Raposo and Ferrestelo.

There is also two cuts on the IC9, in Alcobaça and Vale dos Ovos and one on the IC1, in Grândola.

In addition to these occurrences, there are other conditions on 77 national roads and 66 municipal roads across the country, according to the same source.

On the railway, the Traffic on the Beira Baixa Line has been suspended since 8am between Entroncamento and Castelo Branco due to events caused by bad weather and several services are experiencing constraints.

Circulation on the Northern Line, on the section between Castanheira do Ribatejo and Alverca, municipality of Vila Franca de Xira, Lisbon, was also suspended at 6am suspended due to flooding.

400 occurrences in eight hours

Civil protection recorded 399 incidents between 00:00 and 08:00 related to bad weather, with no victims or homeless people, he told Lusa Elisio Pereirafrom the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC).

According to Elísio Pereira, of the 399 incidents recorded, 65 were in Greater Lisbon and 75 in the West Region.

Of the 399 occurrences, 129 of which relate to floods, 119 to falling trees and 83 mass movements.

“We have recorded many floods, many due to overtopping of rivers and streams. With regard to the flow situation, they are being monitored by the competent authorities, and at this time there is no indication of significant changes”, he indicated.

Mainland Portugal is being affected by the passage of the Leonardo depression with persistent and sometimes strong rain and wind, with warnings having been issued by the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).

Eleven people died in Portugal since last week following the passage of depressions Kristin and Leonardo, which also caused hundreds of injuries and displacement.

The total or partial destruction of homes, businesses and equipment, the fall of trees and structures, the closure of roads, schools and transport services, and the cut of energy, water and communications are the main material consequences of the storm.

Leiria, Coimbra and Santarém These are the districts with the most damage. The Government declared a state of calamity until next Sunday for 68 municipalities.