Almada, Setubal, Portugal, June 18, 2026 (Lusa) - Four months after the severe storms in Portugal, the sea at Fonte da Telha beach, on the south bank of the river Tagus in the Lisbon area, is showing signs of change, with lifeguards carrying out 12 rescues between the last week of May and 11 June.
Armando Abelho, leader of the lifeguards at Âncora – the Fonte da Telha Lifeguards’ Association – told the Lusa news agency that the sea is no longer behaving in the same way, and therefore warned that bathers must heed the warnings.
“From the last week of May until 11 June, we carried out 12 rescues, something that hasn’t happened in the last four seasons, because Fonte da Telha has always been a quiet beach, a benchmark in terms of safety,” he reported.
The bad weather that hit Portugal this winter, he explained, “has profoundly altered the seabed and the entire coastline, from Fonte da Telha to the mouth of the lagoon [of Albufeira, in the district of Sesimbra]”.
“So, it’s completely different from what it used to be… how should I put it? I used to know it like the back of my hand. Now I can’t say the same; I can’t say that today,” he explained.
Regarding the dangers in question, Armando Abelho pointed out that there are now two permanent sandbars, which did not exist before and which have been causing some problems.
Furthermore, the lead lifeguard drew attention to the danger posed by haphazard parking, welcoming the idea of regulating road traffic in the area, as planned by the local council.
“As I often say, yesterday was already too late,” he said, adding that ambulances sometimes struggle to reach the scene to provide assistance due to the parking and traffic congestion on the Fonte da Telha road, which he described as chaotic.
In May, the Almada council announced that it would regulate traffic in the area by creating two parking bays on Avenida do Mar in Aroeira, a shuttle service to take people to the beach, a roundabout, information boards showing parking capacity, and an access control system to prevent cars from entering Fonte da Telha once there is no longer space for further vehicles.
Speaking to the Lusa news agency, the leader of Âncora also highlighted the shortage of lifeguards, noting that it has been “a terrible year” in this regard, with training courses not taking place due to a lack of candidates.
“I can’t remember a year this bad in the last three or four years. We’ve been managing this situation here with great care, because we have to guarantee staffing levels required by the integrated plans, but it hasn’t been very easy,” he lamented, saying that “perhaps it’s becoming an unattractive activity for young people”.
Âncora, he explained, works mainly with Portuguese lifeguards, but, due to the difficulties faced, professionals from Brazil and Argentina have also been recruited recently, as has been the case in other parts of the country.
GC/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
