ANTÓNIO PEDRO SANTOS/LUSA
A soldier rescues a sheep in the area that was submerged by the rising water of the River Lis due to bad weather, in Leiria
The President of the Republic disputed that the Armed Forces arrived very late on the ground after Storm Kristin, but considered that the lack of a spokesperson gave rise to the idea that they were absent.
The head of state and supreme commander of the Armed Forces spoke to journalists in Cartaxo, in the district of Santarém, after going by boat to visit the town of Valada, isolated due to floods, in relation to an Expresso news story about the actions of Civil Protection and the Armed Forces’ reaction to Storm Kristin.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa says that, regarding the actions of the Armed Forces, what appears to have occurred was a “communication problem”in which “the fact that there was no oral spokesperson, and there were statements that no one read, no one knew, were not known, is which led to the interpretation that the Armed Forces were not on the ground“.
Asked if the Communication was the biggest problem in managing this crisisthe President of the Republic agreed: “I think so. I think communication is very difficult to establish and work”.
In addition to pointing out “this example of the Armed Forces not having a spokesperson, which they had on other occasions”, he added: “Civil Protection itself, how it works and whether it is discussed every few hours, what it is, what it is not, is always a much discussed topic. And the government authorities themselves, when there is a dispersion of Government members in the territory, communication is always more difficult”.
Asked to comment on the information that the Armed Forces only declared the level of “immediate readiness” on Monday, February 2, almost a week after the passage of Storm Kristin, the head of state commented: “I must say that I have doubts about that”.
“For a very simple reason: because I went to the field on the 30th [de janeiro]and on the 30th I already mentioned communications from the Armed Forces, I read the emails, because they didn’t arrive, as there was no Armed Forces spokesperson to explain. I read, and talked about what had already been done the day before, on the 29th, and talked about what was ready on the 30th,” he said.
Asked if the Armed Forces were on the ground, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa replied: “They were on the ground. I, for example, remember that in Ferreira do Zêzere, where I was, they had already been in Ferreira do Zêzere, and they had been in Leiria, and they had essentially been in that initial nucleus, which was hit hardest in the first days, but they were already there, both the Army and the Air Force”.
Armed Forces on the ground
According to the balance released by the office of the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (EMGFA), the Armed Forces committed 2,805 soldiers, 367 vehicles and 27 engineering machines in around 40 municipalities, this Friday.
He was also on the ground with 55 boats, four semi-rigid boats and two amphibious boats.
The EMGFA highlighted that in view of the “severe worsening of atmospheric conditions, which caused severe flooding of flooded areas”, they carried out the rescue of 83 people and 15 animalsbrought 10 horses and 70 cows to safety, built containment barriers and transported and distributed essential goods, such as water and food.
The Armed Forces also guaranteed the provision of geospatial information to support the simulation of flood scenarios to identify affected areascarried out 10 aerial surveillance and reconnaissance missions, carried out water pumping operations and technical support work for essential infrastructures or reinforced electrical energy production capabilitiesthrough the use of generators.
Since January 28, 11,666 military personnel have been deployedwith 1,356 vehicles and 125 engineering machines.
Among the actions carried out are the rescue of 215 people, 549 meals distributed and 381 bathing facilities or 1,860 beds made available in 15 military units.
The Armed Forces have also repaired more than 86 homes and public buildings, provided 42 Starlink equipment, have 53 satellites in use and provided 120 generators, among other actions.
