Lisbon, April 8, 2026 (Lusa) – The Portuguese economy minister, Manuel Castro Almeida, said on Wednesday that damage assessments for all homes affected by the severe weather that struck Portugal in January and February would be completed by 30 June.
Speaking to reporters in Lisbon, he said that the government was committed to meeting this deadline.
“It must be said that we are already carrying out several hundred assessments a day, so I believe the 30 June deadline will be met,” he said.
He acknowledged that the reconstruction support process had faced delays, as it relies heavily on local councils to conduct individual damage reports.
The government acted very swiftly within its capabilities, he said, adding that the number of applications for housing reconstruction, totalling over 30,000, had exceeded initial expectations.
He explained that for housing repairs costing up to €10,000, the process was taking a significant amount of time because each individual application required a formal assessment to determine eligibility and the specific amount of aid to be granted.
According to him, local councils lacked the necessary resources to handle this workload and that 750 additional technicians had been identified to assist councils in completing these assessments rapidly.
Furthermore, he highlighted that bureaucracy had been reduced for minor repairs under €5,000, where a photograph of the damage was sufficient for a claim.
"The truth is that, for those who are at home and have not yet received the money, it is taking a long time (…) What I can assure you is that there is no shortage of funds; the money is available", he said.
At least 19 people died, with more than half of these deaths occurring during recovery work following the passage of storms Kristin, Leonardo and Marta in late January and early February that also left hundreds of people injured, homeless and displaced.
Thousands of homes, businesses, and infrastructures were partially or totally destroyed, the collapse of trees and structures, power, water and communications cuts, and flooding, resulted in total losses amounting to billions of euros.
The Central region, Lisbon and Tagus Valley, and Alentejo regions were the worst affected.
Regarding the next European Fund Framework, Castro Almeida mentioned his scheduled meeting with Raffaele Fitto, the European Commission for Cohesion and Reforms deputy head, on Wednesday.
During this meeting, he intends to convey the necessity of introducing changes to the Commission's proposal, saying it was not fair to Portugal.
“We will have to make changes; we will have to discuss this. But what I can say is that we are not satisfied with the criteria and the amount allocated to Portugal. There are changes that need to be made, and we will talk about that,” he concluded.
RCP/MYAL // AYLS
Lusa
