Twelve Portuguese municipalities receive €18.5m after storm damage

Portugal's Secretary of State for Forests confirmed that twelve municipalities managing landscape operations, including Ourém, Leiria and Alcobaça, have had funding applications approved and already received €18.5 million to address storm damage. Another three municipalities are finalising contracts, while eleven more have applications pending approval. The OIGP 2.0 programme, backed by €41 million from the Recovery and Resilience Plan, is meant to clear forest roads and remove combustible material left by storm Kristin, which struck on 28 January. Since April, an integrated command has cleared nearly 20,000 kilometres of forest tracks, though full completion of the works remains premature to predict.