More heavy rain flooded several rural areas in the north of storm-battered Portugal yesterday, leaving levees at risk of bursting around the medieval city of Coimbra and forcing authorities to evacuate about 3,000 residents as a precaution.
“We are at the limit of our capacity to contain these waters. Everything that can be done is being done, including the most extreme preventive measure, the evacuation,” Prime Minister Luis Montenegro told reporters on a bridge over the River Mondego in the Coimbra area.
A succession of deadly storms has hammered mostly central and southern parts of the country since late January, blowing roofs off houses, flooding several towns and leaving hundreds of thousands without electricity for days.
At least 15 people have died as a consequence of the storms, including indirect victims.
Montenegro was in Coimbra overseeing the emergency response after the Interior Minister resigned following criticism.
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