The President of the Government stated that, after the bad weather that affected today some islands of the archipelago, it will now be necessary to make an accurate assessment of the damages caused by strong winds and rough sea and move forward to next stage: the cleaning and recovery from damages.

"With the improvement of weather conditions in the next hours, we must undertake an effort to accurately assess the extension of the damages. We must roll up our sleeves and move forward to the next stage: the cleaning and recovery from damages," said Vasco Cordeiro.

The President of the Government spoke in the village of Ribeira Quente at the end of a round of visits to the municipalities on the southern coast of São Miguel, where he learned of the damages that occurred throughout the day. He was accompanied by the Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport, Vítor Fraga, and the Regional Secretary for the Sea, Science, Tourism and Technology, Fausto Brito e Abreu.

After visiting the affected areas in Ponta Delgada, Lagoa, Vila Franca do Campo and Povoação, Vasco Cordeiro added that, for now, there are circumstances preventing the overall assessment of the damages, such as the case of the jetty of Ponta Delgada Port and other fishing ports on São Miguel Island.

"As for existence of more complicated situations, most of them occurred in the municipalities of Ponta Delgada and Lagoa, where there were some situations of severe flooding in homes," the President of the Government said, noting that Housing and Social Welfare Services have been following these cases throughout the day.

"There are also some damages to the roofs of some buildings, namely schools. They occurred not only on São Miguel, but also on other islands.

Nevertheless, Vasco Cordeiro stressed that the Prime Minister and the Minister of Internal Affairs have taken the initiative of contacting the Azorean Government via telephone on Sunday night to learn about the preparations that were being made at various levels.

"Throughout the day, I have been in contact with Prime Minister, António Costa, and I must point out his attitude of solidarity in this hour of great difficulties," stressed Vasco Cordeiro.