Severe weather

Seriously bad weather affecting the Azores since yesterday evening has caused several floods on São Jorge and São Miguel islands, and forced the relocation of 67 people who were staying at the Praia da Vitória campsite on Terceira island.
According to the Azores Civil Protection Agency, seven incidents had been recorded up until this morning, including three cases of flooding in yards and homes in Vila Franca do Campo and one in a house in the municipality of Nordeste (São Miguel), as well as a flood in a house in Velas and a landslide on a regional road in the Nortes area (São Jorge), which has now been partially cleared.
“In the municipality of Praia da Vitória, the campsite has been rendered unusable,” the agency stated in a press release.
The Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service advises the public to monitor the weather forecasts and warnings issued by the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) and to take appropriate safety precautions.
Due to bad weather, including rainfall and thunderstorms, the islands of the Central and Eastern groups are under an orange warning – the second most serious on a scale of three – having previously been at the yellow level, the least serious.
In the Eastern Group (São Miguel and Santa Maria), the warning remains in force until 9pm this evening. A yellow warning for wind is also in force during the same period.
In the Central Group (Faial, Pico, São Jorge, Terceira and Graciosa), the orange warning for rainfall remains in force until midday, during which time the yellow warning for strong winds is also in force.
The orange warning is issued by the IPMA when there is a moderate to high risk weather situation, and the yellow warning is issued whenever there is a risk to certain activities dependent on weather conditions.
On Wednesday, the institute reported the approach and passage of “lines of instability, associated with a low-pressure system centred very close to the region”, with a consequent “significant deterioration in weather conditions”.
For today, the seven affected islands are forecast to have very cloudy skies, with clear spells or good clear spells from the afternoon onwards, as well as “conditions favourable to the occurrence of thunderstorms”.
Showers may be heavy and the wind may be localised and temporarily strong (50 to 65 kilometres per hour), with gusts of up to 100 kilometres per hour, veering west. The sea is choppy and may be temporarily rough, with waves from the west of one to two metres.
For a region where tourism has fallen significantly in recent months, this is the polar opposite of what was hoped for in the ‘high season’ month of August.
Source: LUSA