Ponta Delgada, Azores, 23 Nov 2021 (Lusa) – The civil protection of the Azores today recorded 41 occurrences due to “heavy rain” on the island of São Miguel, including the relocation of four people in the municipality of Ribeira Grande following the overflow of a stream.
“In Ribeira Grande, it was necessary to proceed to the relocation of four people, following their homes have been flooded due to the overflow of a stream,” describes the Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service of the Azores (SRPCBA), in a statement.
That entity says that “access to Feteiras, in the parish of Achada, in the Northeast, is conditioned due to a landslide on the road,” and the Regional Secretariat of Public Works and Communications of the Government of the Azores reported that due to bad weather in Sao Miguel, were interrupted to traffic three sections of Regional Road in the municipality of Nordeste.
In a statement released at 7:00 pm local time (8:00 pm in Lisbon), the Regional Government said that the access road to Ribeira Quente “has been cleared and traffic is only for residents”.
According to the Regional Secretariat of Public Works, there are “three sections of ER 1-1ª in the Northeast interrupted to traffic,” namely the “Interior of Achadinha, the section between Achadinha and Achada, and the section between Feteira Grande and Algarvia.
The SRPCBA says it recorded, today, “42 occurrences”, of which 41 were on the island of São Miguel and one on the island of São Jorge.
On the island of São Miguel, there were 20 occurrences in the municipality of Nordeste, seven in Ribeira Grande, six in Povoação, five in Vila Franca do Campo, two in Lagoa and one in Ponta Delgada.
“In São Jorge, in Calheta was recorded an occurrence,” adds Civil Protection.
The occurrences “correspond to floods and obstructions in roads, landslides, and flooding in houses, with no personal injury to record,” it said.
“On-site, to support and resolve the different situations have been the following entities: Fire Department, Regional Directorate of Public Works and Land Transport, Social Security Institute of the Azores (ISSA), Municipal Services for Civil Protection and PSP,” reads the statement.
By mid-afternoon, the SRPCBA reported 29 occurrences on the island of Sao Miguel, including flooding in homes and public roads.
In the municipality of Nordeste schools are closed, told Lusa the mayor, António Miguel Soares.
According to the SRPCBA, in the municipality of Calheta, São Jorge island, a family was relocated, as a precaution, due to the difficulty of access to your home due to the deposition of mud.
The Portuguese Institute of Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) today raised the warning of precipitation to the orange level for the Eastern group (Sao Miguel and Santa Maria) of the Azores, keeping the remaining groups with a yellow warning for the same reason.
According to a statement from IPMA, the depression with an associated frontal system that has conditioned the weather in recent days in the Azores “will continue to affect the archipelago, it is expected that in the coming hours may occur accumulated values of precipitation between 20 to 40 l / m2 in one hour in some areas of the Eastern group.
Thus, it will feel in the Western group precipitation sometimes heavy and may be accompanied by thunderstorms, until 12:00 (13:00 in Lisbon) on Wednesday, as well as in the Central group, while in the Eastern group the orange warning remains in effect until 21:00 today and yellow until 12:00 on Wednesday.
The orange warning is the second most serious on a scale of four and implies a weather situation of moderate to high risk.
