Horta, Azores Islands, Portugal, Feb. 24, 2026 (Lusa) - The Regional Secretary for the Environment and Climate Action said on Tuesday that Portugal's Azores archipelago are "better prepared" to deal with emergencies and disasters, thanks to the work carried out in the region with the involvement of various entities.
"We can say, with political responsibility and based on concrete data, that the Azores are now better prepared to deal with emergencies and disasters than in the past," said Alonso Miguel, at the regional parliament in Horta, during the urgent debate on "Prevention, Disaster Plan and Response Capacity of the Region," requested by Chega.
The minister noted that the Azores "are highly exposed to various natural hazards" that threaten the safety of the public and cause significant material and financial damage, and that the strategy "has been based on strengthening knowledge" and developing tools to monitor, predict and assess risks and enable the region to respond operationally.
The work carried out in conjunction with the scientific community has enabled "continuous strengthening of the means of monitoring, forecasting and assessing seismic, volcanic and meteorological risk."
Alonso Miguel also mentioned several investments that have been made and are ongoing, announcing that this year an international tender will be launched for a flood warning system in at-risk river basins, with an estimated investment of €1.5 million.
"The €3.7 million investment planned for the creation of risk mapping is another key aspect. In 2026, a procedure will be launched for the acquisition of high-detail vector topographic mapping services, which will significantly improve the identification of risks associated with flooding, coastal flooding and landslides," he revealed.
At the opening of the debate, José Pacheco (Chega) justified the reflection by pointing out that the archipelago is exposed to volcanic, meteorological and hydrographic risks: "The question we are asking here today is objective: what is the real level of preparedness of the Autonomous Region of the Azores for a large-scale disaster scenario?"
José Pacheco considered that the region "has the conditions to be an example of island resilience, but this requires rigorous assessment, political commitment and concrete implementation".
Pedro Ferreira (IL), in turn, noted that the Azores "face a system of multiple and cumulative risks" and that climate change means "greater pressure on coastal infrastructure, greater risk of landslides associated with heavy rainfall, greater erosion and greater instability in already vulnerable areas".
"In a region like ours, prevention cannot be a document filed away. It has to be a permanent culture," he argued.
Joana Pombo Tavares (PS) pointed out that the region "has been able to respond" to climate change and, since 2011, has defined a policy to address the challenges, with the creation of the Regional Strategy for Climate Change and the Regional Programme for Climate Change.
After acknowledging that the region has demonstrated its ability to deal with emergency situations, mobilising resources, activating plans and protecting communities, she referred to the need to improve the response. "Prevention is the biggest investment we can make," she said.
PSD MP Luís Soares recalled that civil protection was created in the region after the 1980 earthquake and that the best tests the service has had, "unfortunately, are in real scenarios".
"Civil protection in the Azores is very well equipped and highly motivated to respond to the phenomena that have arisen and are expected to arise. We are a national example of best practice in civil protection," he said.
On behalf of the CDS-PP, Pedro Pinto pointed out that in the region "there is a strategy that is not based solely on reaction, but also, and above all, on prevention, planning and anticipation".
"More science and more knowledge mean greater forecasting capacity, better planning and more informed public decisions, strengthening the region's preparedness for natural risks," he said.
In turn, MP Pedro Neves (PAN) stated that "the best response to disasters is prevention".
He said that what is happening in mainland Portugal "is, and has been, a warning" and that the solution "is prevention and accepting that climate change is here to stay".
On behalf of the BE, António Lima acknowledged the need to discuss resources, legislation, plans and prevention: "Our best tool for preventing the risks to which the region is subject [...] is prevention. The current situation is extremely demanding,’"he said, considering that spatial planning "is the main instrument for prevention and risk reduction."
João Mendonça (PPM) noted that the Azores are exposed to extreme phenomena, "which requires continuous preparation, institutional coordination and available operational resources".
Preparation "must be ongoing" and the Regional Coalition Government "has been strengthening" its installed capacity.
MP Luís Silveira (CDS-PP), former mayor of Velas, São Jorge, said that the island's inhabitants "are grateful for the way civil protection worked during the seismic-volcanic crisis" of 2022.
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