The Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro announced on 1 February that the Council of Ministers adopted a package of measures to support the population and companies in recovering from the effects of storm Kristin, which hit mainland Portugal overnight from 27 to 28 January.

In addition to extending the disaster situation status until 8 February, a series of emergency and recovery measures were presented to an overall sum of 2.5 billion euros to support citizens, companies and the recovery of public and private infrastructures.

A Council of Ministers Resolution (CMR) was approved that extended both in time and territorial scope the disaster situation due to storm Kristin, CRM 15-B/2026, under the following terms:

a) The disaster situation is extended until 23:59 of 8 February 2026 due to the ongoing severe weather conditions over the coming days, including the heightened risk of floods

b) In addendum to the councils already identified in CMR 15-B/2026, and given the floods or severe risk thereof, disaster situation is declared in the municipalities of Águeda. Albergaria-a-Velha, Alcácer do Sal, Aveiro, Estarreja, Ílhavo, Murtosa, Ovar, and Sever do Vouga

c) During this period, all the effects, assistance, and measures set in CMR 15-B/2026 and the Law will remain in force.

Approval of a Decree-Law that sets the following exceptional and temporary social assistance measures for people due to the damages caused by storm Kristin.

a) Assistance to families experiencing difficulties or loss of income and who need to pay the necessary expenses to ensure their subsistence or to purchase immediate and pressing goods, through the distribution of occasional benefits, granted once only, or maintenance benefits. This includes occasional or exceptional benefits in money or in kind to be given in situations of verified economic difficulties due to storm Kristin. The benefit amount varies and is determined according to the assessment made by the social security services with a cap of €1,074.26 (2 x Social Benefit Index) by member of the household and paid in up to 12 monthly instalments

b) Benefits for private and equivalent charities that offer lodging for the elderly, children, youths, disabled people who are institutionalised, and the homeless, victims of domestic abuse, and which carry out solidarity initiatives in the municipalities hit by storm Kristin. The amount varies according to the assessment in each entity

c) Exemption from making social security payments. An exceptional and temporary exemption scheme, full or partial, from paying social security benefits, not accumulated with other extraordinary measures that ensure the same purpose. The exemption is in force for up to six months and can be extended for another six months in the event of full exemption, yeti t increases to one year for partial exemption of 50% of the payments borne by the employer

d) Simplified scheme to reduce or suspend activity in a situation of business crisis. It is envisaged that the employer who is justifiably in a business crisis situation can resort to the reduction or suspension of work agreements set forth in articles 298 and following of the Labour Code, waiving the duties set in articles 299 and 300 of that same Code. Proving the business crisis situation referred to above is made upon request by the employer to the relevant services, namely the Social Security Institute

e) Assistance for employment and vocational training to workers to be granted by the Employment and Vocational Training Institute (IEFP, I. P.), namely:

i. Extraordinary financial incentive on maintaining jobs, hereinafter called "extraordinary incentive" to pay remuneration for employers affected by the damages caused by storm ¬Kristin

ii. Extraordinary financial incentive for self-employed workers

iii. Priority for active employment measures 

iv. Extraordinary Vocational Qualification and Training Plan to assist workers covered by the assistance referred to in the paragraphs above. 

Approval of a Council of Ministers Resolution which, under the Civil Protection Basic Law, sets a significant number of measures to assist people, companies and other legal persons, and the recovery of damages caused by storm Kristin in the councils in disaster situation, namely:

a) Assistance for own and permanent housing. A 10-thousand-euro grant is set up for works and necessary interventions to repair, rehabilitate or rebuild own and permanent homes damaged by storm Kristin, integrated in a building located in a council hit and effectively used as habitual residence for the household, in a scheme similar to that for the fires. Temporary accommodation expenses will also be considered eligible when duly justified by the impossibility to use the home affected. The eligible cost is determined based on the quote(s) presented by the recipient, validated by the local government and relevant CCDR. Reference unit costs for type of work can be used. In addition, the IFRRU enables credit lines for costs not covered by public grants for works and necessary interventions to repair, rehabilitate or rebuild own and permanent homes damaged by storm Kristin

b) Extraordinary 400-million-euro transfer to Infraestruturas de Portugal to recover the roads and rail lines affected by the storm

c) Extraordinary 200-million-euro transfer (financial assistance) to the municipalities to recover municipal facilities and infrastructures, with priority given to the immediate recovery of schools. The transfer is made to the CCDRs of the territories in a disaster situation.

d) Extraordinary 20-million-euro transfer for the recovery of cultural heritage, namely Batalha Monastery and Christ’s Convent in Tomar, among other buildings

e) Assistance to agriculture and forestry via a €10,000 benefit to resume farms or forests’ production capacity in a scheme similar to what is applied for wildland fires

f) Tax moratoria, that is, the extension of the deadlines on tax duties applicable to taxpayers registered in the affected municipalities, as well as accountants registered in those municipalities between 28 January and 31 March. Those tax duties will then have to be met by 30 April 

Approval of a decree-law that sets moratoria on mortgages on own and permanent housing and companies and other legal persons in the area of the disaster situation due to storm Kristin. The moratoria apply for 90 days, starting on 28 January 2026. This is a temporary measure and applied to all due to the emergency situation. Afterwards, a selective scheme for 12 moratoria for 12 months will be discussed with the Portuguese Central Bank and Portuguese Banking Association for situations of more several damage where the measure is thus warranted.

Approval of a Council of Ministers Resolution that sets the creation of credit lines for people and companies affected by the damage inflicted by storm Kristin, which will be set under the Portuguese Development Bank, namely:

a) A current-account credit facility of 500 million euros, maturing in 5 years with a 12-month grace period. The purpose of this facility is to support immediate liquidity requirements due to the damage inflicted by storms and weather events, namely, to replenish cash, operating funds and to cover the current needs indispensable for business continuity

b) An investment on recovery and rebuilding credit facility in the sum of 1 billion euros, maturing in 10 years and with a grace period of 36 months. The purpose of this facility is to support the reconstruction due to the damage caused by storms and weather events in the municipalities where an emergency or disaster situation is declared, as of, and including, January 2026. This facility will immediately cover 100% of the losses verifie3d by an independent review. The sums paid by the insurers will be deducted from the loan value. As such, companies can swiftly begin reconstruction of their facilities and premises.

After 36 months, this facility will have a maximum subsidy of10% according to meeting three criteria: Business continuity (positive turnover), maintaining or increasing the number of jobs, funded investments have to be covered by insurance, mandatorily.

Approval of an exceptional scheme to waive prior administrative checks for public or private works for the reconstruction of infrastructures, facilities, and buildings affected by the disaster due to storm Kristin. With a view to accelerate the reconstruction works, a successive control and accountability scheme will be in force for the fields of urban, environmental, public procurement and fiscal and financial rules. 

Approval of a Task Force for the Reconstruction of the country’s central region, charged with monitoring and supporting the coordination of the assistance to the population, companies, and municipalities hit by storm Kristin, which will be based in Leiria and will begin operating on 2 February 2026, under the coordination of Mr. Paulo Fernandes.

The Government will continue to permanently monitor the situation’s evolution in articulation with the relevant authorities, ensuring the necessary resources are allocated to protect the population and recover the affected regions.