Storms pass but widespread damage remains // Seguro wins in remaining councils, Ventura wins abroad
Portuguese news in English on Tuesday, February 17, 2026.
Storms pass but widespread damage remains
The worst of the weather has passed and the disaster situation has been lifted after back-to-back storms claimed 16 lives, injured many more, caused thousands of evacuations and cut off Portugal’s primary highway and railway, Expresso reports. But problems remain across the country, from a village isolated and thousands still without power or phone networks after more than a fortnight, to the large chunk of the A1 washed into the Mondego River and schools forced closed due to damage. Regional and national roads remained cut on Monday in many places, notably Arruda dos Vinhos, Alenquer, Leiria, Alcácer do Sal, Coimbra, Montemor-o-Velho and Sertã. Work had begun to fix the north lanes of the A1 where it collapsed into the water near Casais — west of Coimbra — after a dyke burst, but was expected to take up to three weeks. The village of Ereira, on the banks of the Mondego between Coimbra and Figueira da Foz, turned into an island 16 days ago. The army and navy are keeping the town supplied, with boats the only way to get to work or school.
Roads: Local authorities estimate many damaged roads may take until the end of the year to be repaired. Some councils have dozens cut or otherwise impacted.
Trains: The North train line has returned to service after going under water but the West and Beira Baixa lines are still suspended in large parts and the Cascais line is operating on an altered schedule.
Power: Parts of Leiria are still without power 18 days on from Kristin, with 11,000 homes and businesses affected. Workers have arrived from Spain to help more than 1000 E-Redes workers on the ground.
Phones: The country’s phone networks are almost back to normal but there are still thousands without connection. Vodafone is the only operator to predict its network will be back to 100% by the end of the month.
Schools: Education Minister Fernando Alexandre said the Marrazes and Vieira de Leiria school groups in Leiria and Marinha Grande needed repair work that would take about 15 days. Coimbra schools are expected to reopen normally on Wednesday.
Deaths: As of Monday, 16 people had lost their lives in the storms and hundreds had been injured or forced out of their homes. A couple in their 60s, Venância and Maria de Fátima, have been missing since last Tuesday, when they failed to return from an appointment in Coimbra.
Rivers: Red alert levels have been reduced along the major rivers, down to yellow for the Tejo and orange for the Douro, but residents are warned the situation is not fully over.
Tolls: Payment suspended on parts of the A8, A17, A14 and A19 highways was reimposed on Monday (February 16).
Beaches: Guincho now has a cliff in the middle of the sand, Mira lost seven metres of beach in five days. Even with some natural recovery, experts fear many beaches from the north to the south of the country will still be unrecognisable by summer, Expresso reports.
