Firefighters and civil protection on standby in the Azores due to depression Hipólito

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The Azores Civil Protection has contacted all the region’s fire departments and Municipal Civil Protection Services to “be in a state of readiness” due to the passage of the Hippolytus depression, which is beginning to affect the archipelago today.

“Following the passage of the Hipólito depression through the archipelago, the Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service of the Azores (SRPCBA) informs that it has contacted all the fire departments in the region, as well as all the Municipal Civil Protection Services in order to be in a state of readiness,” reads a statement.

In the same note, Civil Protection of the Azores advises the population to adopt self-protection measures, namely to keep drainage systems clean, as well as those adjacent to homes, to take care of loose objects or others that could be blown by the wind and to consolidate roofs, doors and windows.

People should also close their doors, windows and shutters tightly, move around only when necessary and stay away from low-lying areas near the seafront.

In a statement sent to newsrooms this morning, the Azores regional office of the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) said that the Hipólito depression, with an associated frontal system, will be “about 150 km south (S) of Flores on Thursday afternoon, with a pressure at its center of 980 hPa”.

The depression is expected to cause “a significant increase in wind intensity, with gusts of around 115 kilometers per hour in the Eastern group” (São Miguel and Santa Maria), 110 kilometers per hour in the Central group” (Terceira, São Jorge, Faial, Pico and Graciosa) and “up to 100 kilometers per hour in the Western group” (Flores and Corvo).

According to the IPMA, “it will also cause an increase in sea waves with significant heights of up to 7 meters throughout the archipelago”.

“Associated with this meteorological situation, rainfall is expected to be heavy at times and may be accompanied by thunderstorms. The influence of this depression should begin to be felt from the morning of January 10 (Wednesday) and will continue until at least the weekend,” says the IPMA.

Due to the depression, the IPMA issued an orange warning for the islands of the Central and Eastern group of the Azores on Tuesday because of the wind and heavy rain, which may be accompanied by thunderstorms, a situation that is expected to continue until early Thursday.

The orange warning is the second most serious on the scale and is issued for “moderate to high risk weather conditions”.

Moti Shabi
Moti Shabi
Moti Shabi

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