Mayor Gonçalo Lopes admits that damage to housing could exceed 100 million and to companies it could reach 700 million. The depression caused six deaths in the municipality and left economic activity practically at a standstill for a week.
The Municipality of Leiria has received only five million euros in cash since the The amount coming from an insurance company reached the municipality almost a month ago, its president told the Lusa agency.
“The only support we received, monetary, was five million euros [M€]which was an advance from the insurance company we worked with. Besides, I didn’t receive any more money”, said Gonçalo Lopes. On the 18th, the Leiria Chamber estimated that the losses caused by the Kristin depression at that date amounted to €792.8 millionwithout taking into account the costs of municipal and State infrastructure and the forest.
“Within what we were able to determine, what we have already spent, plus the first estimate below, we have a value of 792.8 million euros. There is still a lot more to go”, said Gonçalo Lopes that day.
In an interview with the Lusa agency, when a month has passed since the Kristin depression caused major damage in the municipality, Gonçalo Lopes anticipated an increase in the amount, listing the impact on housing, the economy, vehicles, the forest and other areas.
In the case of housing, he admitted that losses could exceed €100 M and, at the level of companies, the value “could reach approximately 700 million euros”.
There is still a lot to count
There are several situations to be taken into account, such as the number of vehicles affected or the damage to the forestry area, which, in this case, “represents an immediate economic loss, yes, and then a very serious loss from an environmental point of view”, he highlighted.
“This is the scenario that makes it possible to quickly increase this amount of 800 million euros”, he highlighted.
Reiterating that the municipality’s Gross Domestic Product “is in the order of two billion euros per year, a day at a standstill is around 5.6 M€ that is not produced”, the mayor recalled that, for a week, Leiria had “practically 100% of economic activity at a standstill”.
“Therefore, it was a country and a region that became poorer”he highlighted, to list other non-municipal assets affected, from religious spaces to associations.
At this stage, “the values are completely impossible to accurately count, they are estimates”acknowledged, explaining that the survey of the affected municipal assets is underway, “both as a response to insurance” and “to submit the information” to the Center’s Regional Coordination and Development Commission.
Eighteen people died in Portugal, six of which in the municipality of Leiria, following the passage of the Kristin, Leonardo and Marta depressions, which also caused many hundreds of injuries and displacement.
The total or partial destruction of houses, 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, floods and floods are the main material consequences of the storm. The Centro, Lisbon and Vale do Tejo and Alentejo regions were the most affected. The calamity situation that covered the 68 most affected municipalities ended on February 15.
With Lusa
