According to several sources contacted by Lusa, the Algarve Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR) already has teams on the ground visiting the most affected areas and validating the forms completed by the managers of the affected agricultural units.

One of the companies that these technicians visited on Wednesday is Agrolimoa, Sociedade Horto-Frutícola do Algarve, in Silves, in the Faro district, where modern greenhouses were destroyed in an area of ​​6.5 hectares, out of a total of nine hectares.

One of the company's managers, Simão Pereira, estimated to Lusa that there will be losses of around 1.5 million euros, mainly in the structure of the greenhouses, piping, and tomato, cucumber, and eggplant crops, to mention just a few of the affected agricultural products.

“This now compromises all the crops that were going to start in December and January,” said Simão Pereira, adding that “turnover will fall drastically, since there will not be production in the previous quantities.”

Of the 11 existing greenhouses, only three remain in good condition, but the manager of Agrolimoa assured that the company “will not give up” and will “try to recover little by little.”

“Currently, we employ around 50 people, and closing the company would really be the last option. Without this [state] aid, it will be very difficult. With aid and financing available, within a year I think we could return to full activity,” he said.

In turn, according to the president of the Association of Irrigators and Beneficiaries of Silves, Lagoa and Portimão, the products most affected by the storm were citrus fruits and avocados, with many fruits falling to the ground, trees uprooted, and infrastructure destroyed, such as greenhouses and irrigation systems.

“The products that fell to the ground cannot be salvaged, and there are losses that are still being tallied,” said Ilídio Mestre.

“Significant” reports

The vice-president of the CCDR of the Algarve, Pedro Valadas Monteiro, confirmed that they are receiving daily reports describing the damage, some of which are “significant”.

“After validation, we will prepare a report to be sent to the office of the Minister of Agriculture and the Sea, because there is a measure in place to restore the destroyed productive potential that is only opened with the minister's order,” said the official.

After completing the form, the document can be sent to vicepresidencia-ap@ccdr-alg.pt or delivered in person to the Tavira Agricultural Experimentation Center, the Proximity Technical Support Division (Porto de Pesca de Portimão), the Patacão Service Desk (Faro), or the Alcoutim Nucleus.

According to the CCDR Algarve, this survey will allow for “assessing the impacts and substantiating the proposal of support measures appropriate to the sector.”

The bad weather caused by the passage of Storm Claudia in the Algarve on Saturday resulted in the death of an 85-year-old woman and injured more than 20 people in Albufeira, also causing damage in the municipalities of Lagoa and Silves.

The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) confirmed that the phenomenon that hit Albufeira that day was a tornado, which reached wind gusts of around 220 kilometres per hour, traveling a distance of approximately four kilometres.