The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) and the National Civil Protection Authority raised the alert level to red in four districts of the northern region for the early morning of January 1.
Viana do Castelo, Braga, Porto and Vila Real have been on orange alert since midnight, which goes up to red at 3 in the morning, due to “heavy and sometimes persistent rains.” The alert remains in effect until noon on Sunday, when it returns to the yellow level. The Vila Real district is on orange alert during the most critical period.
Civil Protection, for its part, decided to put the four districts on red alert starting at midnight, as confirmed by the spokesman at a press conference this Saturday.
Bad weather warnings had already led several municipalities (such as Porto, Matosinhos, Vila do Conde, Póvoa de Varzim, Chaves and Vila Real) to cancel the end-of-year parties.
In addition to the rains in the North region, Civil Protection also warns of maritime unrest along the entire western coast, with waves that can reach 4.5 meters. For this same reason, the authorities ask the population not to perform the tradition of the “first bath of the year” on the morning of New Year’s Day. “We call on them not to go to the beaches to take their first swim of the year, to do so only when weather conditions allow it,” said the spokesperson.
Source: Observadora
