Portugal receives €65.37 million in EU storm aid as telecom repairs drag on – Portugal Resident
Portugal is to receive an advance payment of €65.37 million from the European Union Solidarity Fund following the devastating storms that killed at least 19 people and caused more than €5 billion in damages earlier this year.
The European Commission approved the payment after concluding that Portugal met the conditions for accessing the fund. It represents an initial contribution towards recovery costs, with any further financial assistance requiring approval from the European Parliament and Council of the EU.
The announcement comes as opposition MPs demand answers over hundreds of homes and businesses still awaiting the restoration of telephone, internet and television services almost six months after Storm Kristin.
Portugal was struck by storms Kristin, Leonardo and Marta between late January and early March. The successive weather systems battered the mainland for around three weeks, with the Centre, Lisbon and Tejo Valley, and Alentejo regions among the worst affected.
Thousands of homes, businesses and public facilities were damaged and/ or destroyed, while fallen trees and structures caused widespread disruption to electricity, water, communications and transport. Flooding left several hundred people injured, homeless or displaced.
At least 19 people died – more than half of them during repair and recovery operations.
Alongside Portugal’s €65.37 million, the Commission approved advance Solidarity Fund payments of €37.26 million for Spain and €931,000 for Malta.
Created to help countries respond to major disasters, the EU Solidarity Fund has provided more than €11 billion for 148 emergencies—128 natural disasters and 20 public-health emergencies—across 25 member states and six candidate countries.
Despite the funding announcement, the recovery remains incomplete in some of Portugal’s hardest-hit communities.
ANACOM, the national communications regulator, said this week that approximately 1,600 customers—most of them in the Leiria region—are still waiting for land-line telecommunications to be restored after Storm Kristin struck on January 28.
Socialist MPs Eurico Brilhante Dias and Catarina Louro have now questioned Infrastructure and Housing Minister Miguel Pinto Luz about the continuing failures, demanding a detailed timetable for completing repairs.
They identified particularly serious problems in Alvaiázere, Ansião and Marinha Grande, where damaged cables and telecommunications equipment reportedly remain scattered across rural areas.
“Businesses are facing operational difficulties, citizens are struggling to access essential services, remote workers are being forced to relocate, and telecommunications infrastructure remains scattered across the countryside, also jeopardising agricultural work,” the MPs said in a parliamentary question.
They have asked the government to disclose the number of affected customers in each municipality and explain whether a restoration timetable exists for every municipality and parish.
MPs also want details of coordination between the government, telecommunications operators and ANACOM, alongside measures to repair damaged poles and cables and prevent further delays caused by poor cooperation between authorities.
They have asked the government to respond to legislative proposals from ANACOM intended to strengthen network resilience and improve the coordination of recovery operations after extreme weather events.
The question extends beyond the remaining disruption in Leiria. PS Socialists want to know how Portugal intends to ensure that telecommunications networks are better able to withstand future storms—particularly as extreme weather places increasingly heavy demands on infrastructure on which communities, businesses and emergency services depend.
Source: LUSA
