Several people were left homeless in Albufeira on Sunday evening following flash floods which struck southern Portugal around lunchtime. Commuters were also facing delays of several hours, with delays at Faro airport and train stations of around two hours.


A number of roads were also closed by civil protection authorities after the heavy rains which have now moved north towards Lisbon.

According to the Albufeira Town Hall, the exact number of people who will be provided alternative accommodation overnight had not yet been ascertained on Sunday evening, with the city particularly hard hit by the heavy rains which fell between 10am and 3pm.

The Town Hall said it was doing “everything in its power to come to the aid of those affected.”

In the meantime, civil protection authorities said the situation, which had “not yet been normalised”, was slowly improving due to the heavy rains subsiding and the tide moving out.

The flooding saw rescue workers having to evacuate numerous people who had been trapped.

Rescue services were stationed throughout the Algarve, following the issuing of a red alert during the early hours of the morning, and were called into action across the region throughout Sunday following calls for help.

The weather advisory in the Algarve was reduced from red to orange at 3pm on Sunday.

Roads were closed on Sunday in several towns and cities in the Algarve, including Loulé, Albufeira, Lagoa, Silves and Portimão.

Rail passengers were also left to wait several hours to board regional trains, while passengers at Faro Airport were arriving and departing with delays of around two hours, while there were unconfirmed reports of flights being diverted to Seville and Lisbon.

Shopkeepers in Albufeira have blamed incompetent town planning for the floods, while civil protection authorities were criticised for not increasing the weather advisory from red to blue when it became apparent the region was set to be barraged by heavy rainfall in a short space of time.

Rain is forecast to fall at least until Wednesday, before clearing. A high of 26 degrees Celsius is predicted for the Friday, with thermometers set to remain in their mid-20s for most days from this Thursday onwards.