“This alert situation is in effect from 6:00 pm today until 6:00 pm tomorrow [Friday],” stated the Regional Secretary for Environment and Climate Action, Alonso Miguel, at the Civil Protection headquarters in Angra do Heroísmo.
According to the official, the alert situation entails the “prohibition of activities near the coastline and riverside areas” and “restricted circulation near the coastline, except for residents and essential services.”
Also prohibited are “tourist or leisure activities, particularly hiking trails,” as well as “sports, recreational, cultural, or religious activities in open spaces located in risk-exposed areas.”
Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle is expected to pass through the Azores as a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale (a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 is the most severe category), leading to worsening weather conditions from the end of today.
The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere has issued a red alert for the Central and Western groups of islands, due to forecasts of precipitation, wind, and maritime agitation.
[News updated at 11:57 am]
