“Our rivers, at this moment, are at their capacity limit and, therefore, it is natural that with this precipitation there will again be an increase in the severity of flooding throughout the country, namely in the North and Central zones,” said the national commander of Civil Protection, Mário Silvestre.

The national commander of ANEPC stressed that the predicted weather pattern requires “redoubled care” in various aspects of daily life, particularly in road traffic.

“I emphasise that, once again, it is an episode of rain, the rain itself will not have a great impact, but what the rain will cause in the various watercourses will be a significant problem and may constitute a risk, again, for the entire Portuguese population,” he stressed.

The Mondego, Tagus, Sorraia, and Sado rivers stand out as being at significant risk of flooding, reported Mário Silvestre, indicating that the Vouga, Águeda, Lima, Cávado, Ave, Douro, Tâmega, Lis, and Guadiana rivers are also at risk of flooding.

The head of Civil Protection warned about all watercourses located in the Northern region, particularly in Minho, because "they will probably be the ones that will suffer the most impact from the precipitation that will be felt," especially on Tuesday.

To date, 11 district emergency and civil protection plans have been activated across the 18 districts of mainland Portugal, as well as "125 municipal plans and 19 declarations of alert status decreed by the municipalities themselves," revealed Mário Silvestre.

The head of ANEPC also said that the special flood plan for the Tagus basin "remains at its maximum level, the red level."