Sixteen people died in Portugal in the last three weeks due to the impact of storms Kristin, Leonardo and Marta, that also caused hundreds of injuries and evacuees. The Lusitanian Government extended the state of emergency till Sunday, February 15th, for 68 municipalities and announced it will provide up to 2.5 billion euros’ aids. The Emergency Response Fund of Caritas Leiria has already raised over 1.5 million euros to help the victims of adverse weather conditions, according to figures shared by the Lusitanian Catholic organisation yesterday. Having been busy in the last 16 days to provide endless support in situ, Caritas handed out 83 tons of victuals and provided direct assistance to 643 families by distributing food. “For many families, the emergency is not over when bad weather ends. Quite the opposite: it is time the social and economic consequences of such extreme events started to come more clearly to the fore”, Caritas posted online. The effects of the storms “intensify the housing crisis that was already affecting the area, with an impact that will not only be immediate but extended, silent and structural”, Caritas’ release says, with households dealing with structural damage to their homes as the most vulnerable group in the current scenario.