Continuing extreme weather has caused deaths of 16 people, evacuation of thousands and destruction of homes
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Portugal is under pressure to draw up plans to adapt to the climate emergency as the country continues to be lashed by an unprecedented series of storms that have killed at least 16 people and left tens of thousands without electricity.
More than 3,000 people were evacuated from the Coimbra area of central Portugal on Wednesday as the Mondego River reached critical levels, while part of the country’s main motorway, the A1, collapsed after a dyke on the Mondego gave way under the weight of flood water.
Hundreds more people have been displaced across the country since what scientists have called the “longest train of storms within living memory” began at the end of January. The extreme weather, which has affected central and southern parts of the country, has cut off power to 33,000 people and caused an estimated €775m (£675m) of damage.
