The effects of Storm Martinho passing through the Algarve were less than expected, with damage mainly caused by strong winds, such as falling trees and removable structures.
According to civil protection, there were 193 incidents recorded due to storm Martinho, but no injuries or need for relocation of anyone.
“There are no serious situations and the incidents, mainly caused by the wind, were all resolved within the municipal scope, without the need to send external resources,” said the Algarve regional commander of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), Vítor Vaz Pinto.
According to this official, several houses and buildings were damaged, “but there were no injuries and no need to rehouse anyone”.
“We were expecting more rain and the wind was the main problem, with trees and movable structures falling mainly,” added Vítor Vaz Pinto.
According to regional civil protection services, in Foia, the highest point in the Algarve, located in the Monchique mountains, winds of up to 140 km per hour were recorded.
From 8:00 pm on Wednesday until 8:00 am this Thursday, ANEPC's regional services registered 193 incidents, 143 of which were falling trees.
There were also 16 incidents related to falling removable structures (mainly advertising panels along roads) and nine falling construction elements on built structures (mainly scaffolding).
Eight incidents in which structures were at risk of falling were removed, three were road cleaning and one was related to flooding.
Regional civil protection services warn that there will be a further worsening of weather conditions this afternoon, but it is not expected to be as adverse as what occurred during the night.
Mainland Portugal has been under an orange warning since the end of Wednesday due to strong winds caused by depression Martinho.
The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere ( IPMA ) has issued yellow warnings for the Algarve for this Thursday, with rainfall expected, sometimes heavy, possibly hail and accompanied by thunderstorms, wind gusts of up to 75 km/hour, especially on the coast and in the mountains, and, on the west coast, waves in the sea from the west/southwest of four to five metres, and on the south coast, waves from the southwest of four to four and a half metres.
Source and photo https://www.lusa.pt/
