Category: Storm aftermath

Portugal´s rural residents still reeling from impact of Storm Kristin in January

A landslide caused by storm flooding still blocks a critical road near Coimbra.

It has been more than two months since Storm Kristin tore across central Portugal uprooting millions of trees, downing power lines and ripping off roofs. Right behind that devastating storm, which packed winds up to 240 kilometers per hour (124 mph), came the drenching rains of Storm Leonardo causing widespread flooding throughout the hard-hit region.

Storm Kirstin affected the areas of Leiria, Coimbra and Santarem on the night of January 27. It cut off power to around one million people. The economic impact of the storm has been estimated at six billion euros, or about $7 billion. Considering damage to property, vehicles, roads, crops, fruit trees, olive trees, eucalyptus plantations and various crops, that amount seems conservative.

Many still waiting for help

I attended an event this weekend where I had a chance to listen to several people living in a rural area near Tomar who are still suffering consequences of the storm. One woman said the storm left them without electricity for three weeks. It also knocked out their internet service. She said they have been told that it could be months before they would have service restored because the internet infrastructure throughout the area had been severely damaged.

“They told me it could be up to nine months,” she said. I heard the same from the man who runs the kennels where my dog stayed over the weekend.

Several people complained that they were waiting for insurance reimbursement despite repeatedly submitting quotes for repair work.

Although repair crews have been busy, I still see downed trees, sagging power lines and damaged roofs everywhere.

Rainstorms damage roads linking rural towns

Heavy rains caused this landslide which still blocks a road linking Coimbra to the town of Penacova on the Mondego river.

As if the wind didn’t do enough damage. Rainstorms that followed in Kristin’s wake, caused widespread flooding. Landslides and subsidence damaged roads, cutting off lifelines to towns in rural areas. The Mondego River also flooded a vast area west of the city of Coimbra.

Left: the town of Montemor-o-Velho cut off by flood waters. Right: first responders place sandbags alongside the Rio Nabão in Tomar.

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Sun brings relief to storm-battered Portugal

Valentine’s Day brought a rare sight. The return of the sun in Portugal which has endured weeks of relentless downpours. The storms have brought an estimated 10 inches to 15 inches of rain since January 1, nearly twice the normal amount.

The rains came at the worst possible time. The country was already reeling from the effects storm, Kristin, which ripped across a wide swath of central Portugal on January 28. The storm´s hurricane-force winds uprooted thousands of trees, blew off roofs and cut off electricity, internet communications and water to hundreds of thousands of residents.

The next storms, Leonardo and Marta, added insult to injury. Rivers burst their banks, flooding towns and cities, swamping roads and causing landslides. On Feb. 11, a major road artery near Coimbra, Portugal´s third largest city, collapsed. To date, there have been 16 storm-related deaths and more than 3,000 people have been evacuated from their homes.

Cleanup efforts underway

Crews have been out in force repairing storm damage but the work is far from over. Many rural areas remained without electricity and internet communications for more than two weeks after Kristin hit. A friend of mine who lives alone in a small village, was without power for more than 17 days. Fortunately, she had a wood-burning stove for heat and bottled gas for cooking. Friends whose power was restored more quickly, let her shower and charge her phone at their place.

Parks in the town of Tomar, central Portugal, where I live, were full of uprooted trees. City workers have been busy with chainsaws, and heavy equipment to remove them.

Police tape keeps onlookers away from where crews are cutting up the trunk of an uprooted tree in a park in Tomar, central Portugal.

Although the weather forecast for the next few days looks rain-free, the rivers remain dangerously high. The normally placid Rio Nabão in Tomar, is a rushing torrent. Sandbags remain wedged against doorways along a canal that flanks the river. Elsewhere, the situation remains dire. Vast areas around Coimbra and further south, near the city of Santarem, are under water. There have been calls for Portugal to reevaluate its responses to climate change.

The Rio Nabão is flowing several feet above its normal level.
Sandbags wedged against the entrance to a walkway over a canal in Tomar.

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