LISBON: Portugal braced on Saturday for more heavy rain as some 200,000 consumers were still without power days after Storm Kristin swept the country killing five people.
The national weather agency, IPMA, has placed all of mainland Portugal on alert until Monday for heavy rain accompanied by winds of up to 100 kmh (60 mph).
With rivers already swollen and the soil waterlogged, Portugal’s civil protection service warned the fresh rainfall could cause flash flooding in urban areas and trigger landslides and rockfalls.
Officials urged residents to secure loose objects, avoid vulnerable coastal and riverside areas, and take precautions when driving.
Storm Kristin’s hurricane-force winds struck central and northern Portugal overnight Tuesday, causing flooding and property damage and disrupting travel. It also tore down about 5,800 trees across Portugal.
Emergency services said they carried out 34 land rescues and 17 water rescues in its wake.
Some 198,000 customers were still without power Saturday afternoon, mainly in the Leiria district of central Portugal, according to power company E-Redes.
A 73-year-old man died Saturday after falling from a roof while replacing tiles in the town of Batalha near Leiria, local officials said.
Leiria mayor Goncalo Lopes appealed for volunteers to help repair damaged roofs before more rain arrived Sunday.
Portugal braces for more rain as 200,000 still without power
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Portugal braces for more rain as 200,000 still without power
- Officials urged residents to secure loose objects, avoid vulnerable coastal and riverside areas
- Emergency services said they carried out 34 land rescues and 17 water rescues in its wake
UN chief calls Ukraine war ‘a stain on our collective conscience’
- Guterres warned that the fighting posed direct risks to the safe and secure operation of Ukraine’s nuclear sites
WASHINGTON: Four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the war there remained “as a stain on our collective conscience” and reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire. In remarks for a session of the United Nations Security Council to mark the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Guterres commended the efforts of the United States and others to end the war, but said concrete measures were needed to de-escalate and create space for diplomacy.
Referring to Russia’s invasion, Guterres said: “We have witnessed the cascading consequences of this blatant violation of international law.”
He said more than 15,000 civilians had been killed in Ukraine since the start of the war and over 41,000 hurt. Among those killed or hurt were 3,200 children.
Guterres’ remarks were read on his behalf by Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN under-secretary-general for peacebuilding.
Guterres warned that the fighting posed direct risks to the safe and secure operation of Ukraine’s nuclear sites, and added: “This unconscionable game of nuclear roulette must cease immediately.”
He urged UN member states to fully fund humanitarian assistance and said that any settlement to the war must uphold the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.
“Enough with the death. Enough with the destruction. Enough with the broken lives and shattered futures,” he added.
“It is time for an immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire – the first step toward a just peace that saves lives and ends the endless suffering.
