Leiria, Portugal, Feb. 27, 2026 (Lusa) - The number of requests for support for rebuilding homes due to bad weather totals 20,000, amounting to €100 million, said the coordinator of the Central Region Reconstruction Mission Structure.
“At this very moment [Thursday], we have certainly exceeded 20,000 (...). And 38,000 homes have been registered on the platform, because there is the issue of pre-registration,” said Paulo Fernandes, explaining that the amount relating to the 20,000 applications is around €100 million.
On 18 February, there were 12,625 applications, with a total of more than 30,000 registrations and a requested fund of around €75 million.
In an interview with the Lusa news agency, almost a month after the Kristin storm hit mainly the Leiria region, he acknowledged that there had been a slowdown in requests for support about a week ago.
“But right now, we are again seeing a very high daily rate of new homes being applied for,” said Paulo Fernandes.
Financial aid to repair storm Kristin's damage to homes is granted within a maximum of 3 working days for expenses up to €5,000 (with photographs) that do not require inspection, and within 15 working days for the rest, up to €10,000.
Meanwhile, around 700 professionals (architects, engineers, and technical engineers), distributed across intermunicipal communities, will work for the municipalities on this task.
As for the reconstruction of houses that have been rendered uninhabitable due to bad weather and for which the €10,000 budget is insufficient, the coordinator specified that, for now, “there are 179 homes in the Central Region,” to which “more than 200 homes” in Alcácer do Sal (Setúbal) can be added.
“This is a program that will have a non-repayable fund. It is a program that we are currently finalising to launch the tenders as soon as we have a more detailed assessment of the damage,” he said, clarifying that, in terms of housing, another area of work involves finding solutions for people who are homeless or displaced.
In the case of severely affected homes, the approach involves partnerships with, for example, the Institute for Housing and Urban Rehabilitation, intermunicipal communities, and possibly even municipalities, to make “agreements and protocols with private entities, so that these entities can launch the bidding procedures.”
“We are not going to leave this in the hands of each family,” especially in situations of vulnerability, explained Paulo Fernandes.
The Mission Structure, created on 3 February, noted, on the other hand, and giving the example of Marinha Grande, in the district of Leiria, that “part of the fabric that was destroyed in terms of housing” was “already precarious” and that "it seems more appropriate not to repair the homes, but, perhaps, in some cases, to even talk about rehousing.“ When asked if the perimeter of the damage had already stabilised, almost a month after the Krintin depression started a ”train of storms" that left a trail of destruction, Paulo Fernandes replied affirmatively.
“When we started the Mission Structure, we were still experiencing, on a permanent basis, the series of storms that later led” to floods, landslides, and “issues also associated with what was very damaging to buildings that had already been damaged” by “enormous winds,” he said.
Acknowledging that “almost two weeks ago” the weather gave “some respite,” the Mission Structure coordinator considered, however, that the situation “for people and businesses” is far from ceasing to be urgent.
“It remains urgent, but at least we can focus on the responses,” he added.
SR/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
