Joana Martins, a resident of four years at the Vasco da Gama campsite, explained that the stronger winds were felt around 10pm on Wednesday, and lasted until 3am today.

During this period, the Proteção Civil invited users to gather in the café inside the park, as several fallen trees destroyed a number of homes. Martins added that most people have temporary residencies, but some live permanently at the campsite.

In mainland Portugal, this was one of more than 4,000 occurrences related to bad weather recorded from midnight to 7am, most of which were falling trees and structures, according to the Autoridade Proteção Civil (ANEPC).

The depression of Martinho has caused warnings on strong wind, rain, and rough seas. “We have a cumulative record from midnight on March 19 until 7am today of 4,214 occurrences, of which 2,314 were fallen trees, 1,169 structure falls, 643 road cleanings, 45 mass movements, and 38 floods”, José Miranda, from ANEPC, stated.

The most affected regions were the Greater Lisbon Sub-Region with 1,452 incidents, the Setúbal Peninsula with 456, and the Western Sub-Regin with 329.

He also indicated that 14,560 operatives were mobilised, with the support of 4,901 land resources.