The government of Portugal on Friday reported that will reform in a “urgent” way are emergency communications systemafter the Failures exposed during the Mass blackout this Monday.
Interior and infrastructure ministries explained in a statement that the current Integrated Emergency and Safety Networks System (SIRESP)the platform aimed at facilitating communications in crisis situations, failed in their functions This week and, therefore, it is “urgent” to initiate due tasks for replacement.
To do this, they added, a Working Group that will completely review the system and develop a reportwithin the maximum period of three monthsin which he will present his conclusions and the guidelines on which to build a SIRESP “More robust, reliable, resilient and interoperable”, at the height of its “strategic relevance.”
This review will be added, in turn, to other audits ordered after the cut of light in the Iberian Peninsula, such as the one that the Prime Minister Luis Montenegro requested, whose results will be in a maximum of 20 days.
“This independent analysis, of a priority and urgent nature, will result in a report prepared by each of the entities” – the National Civil Aviation Authority, the National Communications Authority and the Institute of Mobility and Transportation – and must include “a technical and deep analysis of incidents “, as well as”Clear conclusions and concrete recommendations“For the future, he requested.
Already in 2017, the SIRESP had been in the sights of the authorities for its failures during a wave of fires.
However, despite the persistent communication problems, the president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, took stock of the actions of all Portuguese organisms during the blackout and considered that the result was “positive.”
“I recognize that this is one of those cases in which the government is right when it says: ‘Look, In spite of everything that happened And to the fact that there were realities and weaknesses that became visible and that we did not imagine, despite all that, There is no doubt that the balance is positive”He said, although he acknowledged that “The opposition is right when it says that for the future, (management) must be better.”
“Many Portuguese were clear that they did not receive civil protection SMS with how quickly they would have liked. I have not received one to date. (However), when these situations happen, suddenly that There are a number of vulnerabilities that must be prevented for the future”He added.
This Monday, Portugal joined Space and France, and experienced a mass blackout that affected millions of people.
Next, the executive tried to contain the crisis and, while working to restore the electricity supply, he decreed “Crisis Energy” To facilitate the management of health care and telecommunications, considered “critical” services.
Likewise, he contacted the president of the European Commission, Úrsula von der Leyen; the Spanish government; and the leader of the main opposition party, the Socialist Party, Pedro Nuno Santos, to prepare a joint and coordinated response.
(With information from EFE and Europa Press)
