238 people dead in one week in Portugal as the heatwave continues

The heatwave in Portugal is unrelenting with 238 heat-related deaths reported in one week.

According to a report from the Ministry of Health in Portugal, record-breaking temperatures have seen at least 238 people die in just one week from heat-related issues. Most of the deaths occurred in vulnerable, elderly people with underlying health conditions, as reported by metro.co.uk today, Sunday, July 17.

Wildfires have ravaged the country as a result of soaring temperatures these past seven days. In the town of Pinhao, a record high for the month of July of almost 50°C was recorded last Thursday, July 14. Five regions of Portugal have been placed on red alert since Friday, July 15.

An eight-day state of alert had already been issued by the government, warning holidaymakers of the health dangers of the excessive heat and the potential fire hazard that goes with it.

As reported by the Civil Defence, a pilot helping to fight a forest fire in the Braganca region tragically died last Friday, July 15, when his aircraft crashed. A moving tribute was paid to the young pilot in a tweet from the Plan Infoca entity which has the task of fighting fires in Andalucia.

Nos unimos al pesar de los compañeros y a la conmoción en el vecino país de #Portugal, tras conocerse la triste noticia del fallecimiento del Comandante Piloto André Serra después de que su avioneta se estrellase cuando combatía un incendio en el municipio de Castelo Melhor. DEP pic.twitter.com/1VJwpM8UH3

— INFOCA (@Plan_INFOCA) July 17, 2022

A huge blaze broke out in Portugal’s Algarve region, near the famous resort of Quinta do Lago on Wednesday, July 13. This area is home to many luxury homes belonging to, among others, sports stars.

Update: Terrifying video from the horse riding stable on the road between Quinta Do Lago and Vale Do Lobo #QuintaDoLago #ValeDoLobo #Faro #Fire #StaySafe pic.twitter.com/mOEwe2wSfd

— Varandas do Lago (@VarandasDL) July 13, 2022

More than 160 personnel have been reported injured while battling the fires in the past week in Portugal, with around 3,000 firefighters combating the many outbreaks. At least 30,000 hectares of land have already been destroyed this year in the country.

In the last week, fires have been burning in many European countries, including Croatia, France, and neighbouring Spain. A similar number of deaths has been reported by the Carlos III Institute in Madrid. This facility keeps a record of the daily heat-related fatalities in Spain and between July 10 and 14 they registered 237. The previous week, this statistic was 25.

Thousands of homes were evacuated on the Costa del Sol yesterday, Saturday, July 16. A huge blaze broke out on a mountain behind the resort of Fuengirola, spreading quickly across many municipalities. Emergency services have been battling it and are hoping it can be brought under control by the end of today. 

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