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Portugal’s Disaster Management Analysis

Caroline Bontempo

Florida State University

PAD 4833 - International and Comparative Disaster Management

Dr. Dilling

March 19, 2021

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Portugal’s Disaster Management Analysis

Portugal’s disaster management stems from the 1755 8.5 magnitude earthquake that hit

Lisbon, causing a tsunami, killing over 70,000 people (Worboys, 2006). Worboys who is the

research director for the U.S. focusing on disaster response, recovery, and reconstruction,

analyzed the impact of the 1755 earthquake, finding that almost every initiative Portugal has

taken for disaster management is connected back to this earthquake (Worboys, 2006). In 2005,

there was a conference to reflect on the disaster including a panel that discussed urban planning,

risk mitigation, and other disaster prevention (Worboys, 2006). Portugal has remained vigilant on

disaster preparedness including joining Russia in a forest fire prevention initiative, playing a big

role in the pan-European civil protection force, and launching a T.V. advertisement after the 2004

Indian Ocean tsunami urging families to make an evacuation plan (Worboys, 2006). Portugal is

constantly finding ways to keep the 1755 earthquake relevant to remind its residents about how

important it is to prepare for another catastrophe. Their partnering up with other countries and

initiatives in EU planning shows how important disaster planning is to them.

Disaster Management System

In 2019 a peer review was done of Portugal's DRM (disaster risk management) by four

peers from Cyprus, Germany, Italy, and Spain over twelve days (Bosi et al., 2019). Their findings

defined Portugal’s disaster management system as, “ can be characterized as a multi-level system

with responsibilities at national, district and local (municipal) level.” (Bosi et al., 2019). This

included that the National level of responsibility was to set the guidelines for emergency plans,

the District level responsibility as the intermediate and guided by the National, and lastly the

local level which is dependent on resources and capability (Bosi et al., 2019). Some civil

protection agents include, “Firefighters, Security officers, Armed forces, The National Maritime
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Authority, The National Authority for Civil Aviation, The Medical Emergency Institute and other

public health bodies, and so-called ‘Forest Sappers'’”(Bosi et al., 2019). Portugal also follows the

subsidiarity principle meaning that the most immediate level of authority responds immediately

causing a good response plan within the community but equaling disparity among the

municipalities in Portugal (Bosi et al., 2019). This indicates both a top-down and bottom-up

approach, top-down because the national government is setting guidelines and a uniform plan,

and bottom-up because there is flexibility and feedback at the local level depending on the needs

of the community.

The geographic location of Portugal means that there needs to be extra planning for

coastal protection and management.

“coastal protection and management is primarily a national level task for which

the Ministry for Environment is the responsible authority, the Port

Administrations and the Ministry of Defence are responsible. The low level of

participation in public decision-making is a well-documented problem in several

policy fields in Portugal especially on topics of environmental controversy and

including the management of coastal erosion (Basto and Centemeri, 2014). The

Portuguese Environmental Agency (APA) is responsible for coastal defense works

with a central branch in Lisbon and five branches corresponding to each of

Portugal’s Regional Hydrographic Regions. “ (Kit, 2017).

This is indicative of the top-down approach lacking a bottom-up element that would engage the

resident feedback. This approach also leaves little space for the regional/ local level where the

‘mayors’ of the multiplicities could make informed decisions on planning based upon their

multiplicity’s unique needs. There was also a lack of communication between the national
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supervisors over the coastal zones and the local management, causing urban development to be

built over unstable zones which have now switched over national officials that coordinate with

regional officials to prevent this hazard (Kit, 2017). The RISC-KIT concluded that Portugal

needed the better their DRR (disaster risk reduction) overall but especially to develop a separate

coastal DRR which places Portugal at risk for flooding and other coastal disasters (Kit, 2017).

Another geographical obstacle that Portugal has overcome is Portugal’s disaster management

plan, the ARIEM-112 project that allows for emergency response and recovery plans between

overlapping regions with Spain (Prieto, 2017). This project pools both country’s resources and

has already been used multiple times in disasters, such as fires and rescues (Prieto, 2017). This

collaboration is very important because fires are in the top five most common disasters in

Portugal, averaging more than 50% of them occurring due to weather conditions each year (Bosi

et al., 2019).

Common Disaster Analysis

Other disasters that Portugal is prone to according to the 2019 peer review are extreme

temperature, flooding, and drought (Bosi et al., 2019). Extreme heat and droughts go together, a

prolonged extreme heatwave has a 25% chance over the next five years, and there is a 20%

chance of drought in the next ten years (Bosi et al., 2019). A life-threatening flood is expected to

happen at least once in the next ten years, either an urban, river, or coastal flood (Bosi et al.,

2019). In terms of overall vulnerability, Portugal in the 2019 peer review had a score of 1.2, with

the biggest issue of vulnerability being development and deprivation (Bosi et al., 2019).

The expert on forest fires, Domingos Xavier Viegas, stated that Portugal is only going to

see more fires due to climate change making the earth drier and that they needed to plant more

oak, chestnut, and other trees that are fire-resistant (Silva, 2019). Viegas stated that because of
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Portugal's paper industry, they plant many highly flammable eucalyptus trees (Silva, 2019).

These important changes as well as others are unlikely to happen shortly because of economical

demands and vulnerability can never be zero due to uncontrollable elements. In terms of

Portugal’s planning for fire, “well-equipped and financed local fire services are closely

connected to cross-linked municipal and regional civil protection planning. They are also

assisted and overseen by a District Command that provides administrative support.”(Bosi et al.,

2019). The peer-review also notes that funding is not uniform across all municipalities and the

system could benefit from better coordination especially from a technical aspect (Bosi et al.,

2019).

In terms of flooding and tsunamis,

“More recently, tsunami mitigation and awareness strategies were implemented.

In collaboration with a scientific team, the use of the tsunami numerical modeling

allowed a more detailed understanding of the 1969 and 1755 tsunamis on the

Setubal coastline, showing the municipality would be hit within 30–40 min an

earthquake. In addition, the tsunami evacuation map was produced” (Santos et al.,

2020).

In addition to these steps, Portugal did not have a national tsunami warning system in place

which they corrected in 2011 that also tracks tide data (Santos et al., 2020). Portugal has proved

itself to also be very informative to its residents, mostly stemming from the 1755 earthquake,

making countless ads and videos to educate the public. Upon research, Portugal’s disaster

management team has countless data on factors contributing to natural disasters such as

excessive precipitation and unstable grounds.

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Most recently, Portugal has had to adapt to the Covid-19 pandemic and make quick safety

decisions. The first reported Covid-19 case was on March 2nd, allowing some time for

preparation compared to other European countries (Santos et al., 2020). Leaders quickly gathered

and strategize a plan,

“At the local level, the Setubal municipality was the first municipality to activate

the Municipal Commission for Civil Protection (on March 9, 2020) [43]. Then,

the Municipal Emergency Plan (PME) [19] was activated following the first Alert

Situation that has been declared at the national level on March 12, 2020 [40].

Under all the above national and municipal guidelines, Setubal stakeholders

implemented several actions on the territory to protect and support the local

populations” (Santos et al., 2020)

Ten days after the first reported case, Portugal issued a national emergency, and plans went into

effect that had to deal with social, economic, and sanitation issues. Special considerations were

made because of Portugal’s population “Portugal has older populations (median age; Portugal =

44.6” (Öcal & Cvetković, 2020). An older population means that more of the population is at

risk for more serious side effects or death of covid-19.

Obstacles In Disaster Management

The 2019 peer review outlined the three biggest issues that Portugal could improve on,

firstly a more comprehensive DRM approach, secondly more preventative measures, and lastly

more preparedness across multiplicities (Bosi et al., 2019). To create a more comprehensive

DRM approach, uniformity has to be implemented. For example, Portugal has started to take

steps in alliance with other European countries to provide more training to the mayors so that

they are more informed on the risk about their area and how to respond (Bosi et al., 2019).
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Another way to create a more comprehensive DRM approach is to develop more competence

centers like the Nation Innovation Agency (ANI) which is responsible for collecting data and

developing technology in order to keep the multiplicities informed and also “reflects a growing

alignment between science and economy”(Ferreira). If the communication of emergency

information was streamlined through an agency that was dedicated to finding patterns to develop

solutions from, like ANI, and the mayors were also well educated and trained on their

responsibilities then Portugal would have a more comprehensive disaster risk management

system.

In terms of prevention, some key suggestions were given the peer review. First off,

flagging multiplicities that are overly exposed to hazards in order for people at the national level

to do a further investigation into prevention steps for the multiplicities (Bosi et al., 2019). For

example, special consideration should be given to areas with high flood risks, looking into

different infrastructure that could be put in place to mitigate the disaster. This also goes into

another point of direct communication between risk assessment and land development (Bosi et

al., 2019). This would have helped in the situations where buildings were going on top of

unstable land, possibly considering using a competence center to streamline information. It

would also be important to educate builders and developers to look into risks when planning,

based on the land and location because certain parts of Portugal are more prone to floods and

tsunamis than others.

Preparedness is something that Portugal has put serious thought into by finding different

ways to educate its population. For example, mobile applications have been developed as a way

to keep residents informed although there seems to be some disparity on who can gain access

(Bosi et al., 2019). Portugal has also recognized the special attention required to inform children
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of risks at a young age, creating training for teachers and clubs about civil protection for a more

hands-on learning environment (Bosi et al., 2019). By finding different ways to reach the

population, the preparedness, and confidence in the government increases. Some other

suggestions given in the peer review in terms of preparedness were to create more opportunities

for volunteers to get involved which could be paired up with the civil protection clubs and to

enhance collaboration with authorities and the public (Bosi et al., 2019). This would be

especially useful in the coastal areas where they need more public feedback on policies regarding

climate change and erosion.

Case Study: Fires

In June of 2017, “A raging forest fire in central Portugal this weekend killed more than

60 people, including at least 30 motorists who were trapped in their cars when the flames

enveloped a stretch of road.” (Minder, 2017) What started off as one fire turned into five raging

infernos by Sunday (Minder, 2017). Disasters like this are hard to prevent because of how

quickly fires spread and are very difficult to put out, therefore the focus should be on

preparedness. In total there were 1,600 firefighters, police, military, and reinforcements from

other countries sent in (Minder, 2017). A good way to prepare for these types of emergencies is

to coordinate with surrounding multiplicities or in this case even surrounding countries. Some

questions that came up during the investigation of the fires is why some motorists were left on

the roads, possibly that the authorities could simply not reach them (Minder, 2017). Some steps

that could be taken is to provide further training on these particular disasters because Portugal is

prone to them. Another improvement could be their forest management like Viegas noted, to

plant more fire resistant trees (Silva, 2019). The World Wildlife Fund urged the government to

seriously take into consideration planting those trees and consistently the Portugeuse government
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made empty promises most likely due to the paper industry (Minder, 2017). More education

about these fires could have made the residents more prepared and have a set escape plan in the

event of an emergency. The competence centers could also make maps of where fires like these

are more likely to occur, based upon weather patterns and types of trees in the area so that those

areas get flagged and improvements are made.

Case Study: Floods

In November 1967, there was a deadly storm that caused more than 500 fatalities (Trigo

et al., 2015). Meteorologists studied this event and came to the conclusion that “characterised by

strong convection at the regional scale, fuelled by high availability of moisture over the Lisbon

region associated with a low pressure system centered near Lisbon that favoured the convective

instability.” (Trigo et al., 2015). These conditions also make it so that preventative measures are

unrealistic therefore, taking steps to be more prepared is important. For example, most people

were caught by surprise at night by the flood so making sure the multiplicities have an adequate

way to alert people in this instance is the difference between life and death (Trigo et al., 2015).

By using tide data and tracking rainfall, the competence center could warn multiplicities in

danger of floods and then they could warn their residents to make plans for escape. With

technology constantly evolving, there will continue to be more ways to track information and

more precise ways to tell when these disasters will occur, making updating technology in

emergency management very important.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Portugal’s disaster management developments first started to stem from

the 1755 earthquake/ tsunami and have kept going from there as technology evolves. They have

a strong top-down approach and a bottom-up element that needs improvement, especially on
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coastal issues. Portugal has done a good job coordinating with other countries on initiatives and

with Spain on collaborating emergency responses. Some things they need to improve upon are

making a more uniform plan across multiplicities, utilizing the competence centers, making

changes to forest management, educating residents on escape plans, and more training at every

level.
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References:

Bosi, V., López, S. G., Nestler, O., & Paris, N. (2019). Peer review Portugal 2019.

ec.europa.eu.

https://ec.europa.eu/echo/sites/echo-site/files/peer_review_-_report_portugal_final.pdf.

Ferreira, L. (0AD). Portugal NATIONAL INNOVATION AGENCY. P2I | Portugal.

https://procure2innovate.eu/portugal/.

Kit, R. (2017). GOVERNANCE OF COASTAL ZONES AND DISASTER RISK. Portugal |

Coastal Management Webguide - RISC KIT.

https://coastal-management.eu/governance/portugal.

Minder, R. (2017, June 18). Portugal Fires Kill More Than 60, Including Drivers Trapped

in Cars. The New York Times.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/18/world/europe/portugal-pedrogao-grande-forest-fires.

html.

Prieto, M. J. B. (2017). Spain and Portugal coordinate cross-border emergency response

efforts-Projects. Projects - Regional Policy - European Commission.

https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/projects/spain/spain-and-portugal-coordinate-cross-

border-emergency-response-efforts.

Santos , A., Sousa, N., Kremers, H., & Bucho, J. L. (2020). Building Resilient Urban

Communities: The Case Study of Setubal Municipality, Portugal.

geosciences-10-00243.pdf.

file:///Users/carolinebontempo/Downloads/geosciences-10-00243.pdf.
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Silva, D. (2019, July 24). Why is Portugal so prone to wildfires? Phys.org.

https://phys.org/news/2019-07-portugal-prone-wildfires.html.

Trigo, R. M., Ramos, C., Pereira, S. S., Ramos, A. M., Zêzere, J. L., & Liberato, M. L. R.

(2015, October 22). The deadliest storm of the 20th century striking Portugal: Flood

impacts and atmospheric circulation. Journal of Hydrology.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022169415008045.

Worboys, K. (2006). The Uses of History in Disaster Preparedness: The 1755 Lisbon

Earthquake and the Construction of Historical Memory. Journal of the International

Institute.

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jii/4750978.0013.203/--uses-of-history-in-disaster-preparednes

s-the-1755-lisbon?rgn=main%3Bview.

Öcal, A., & Cvetković, V. M. (2020). Public reactions to the disaster COVID-19: a

comparative study in Italy, Lebanon, Portugal, and Serbia. www.

https://www-tandfonline-com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/doi/full/10.1080/19475705.2020.1811405.