Red alert: a state of high alert in Portugal in anticipation of the threat of floods

The National Commander of Civil Protection, Mario Silvestri, explained during a press conference that "The flood risk has risen to the red level" Regarding the province of Santarem.

Floods in Portugal

While local authorities in the municipality of Santarem ordered"Mandatory evacuation" To the areas adjacent to the river within seven hours, stressing that such a situation has not been witnessed since 1997 in the Tagus River Basin.

In the city of Alcácer do Sal, about 100 kilometers south of Lisbon, the Sado River overflowed, flooding the streets of the city center and forcing about a hundred citizens to evacuate.

The civil protection services reported the death of a man in his sixties, who was swept away by the torrents. While he was trying to cross an area flooded with water near a dam belonging to the municipality of Serpa, southeast of the country.

Destructive Storm Christine

This comes a week after the passage of the devastating storm Christine, which claimed the lives of five people, and 76 thousand people are still without electricity in Portugal.

Portugal is witnessing the second rainiest month of January since 2000, according to what was reported by the National Meteorological Agency.