The government today declared the fires that continue to rage across Portugal, a ‘public calamity’ which provides for urgent public spending on a range of defence and firefighting operations alongside enhanced powers for Portugal Civil Defence service.
The ‘public calamity’ categorisation is provided for in the Civil Protection Act, and can be declared "in the face of, or due to the danger of a major accident or catastrophe, and includes a special regime for public contracting and the supply of goods and services."