Cyprus News Agency

Late Wednesday, heavy rains caused the collapse of a dam on the Mondego River and the erosion of a pylon supporting the A1 highway that connects Lisbon with Porto. Coimbra Mayor Ana Abrunhosa said that a section of the road, already closed by the police as a precaution, collapsed.

Abrunhosa said, "The cities of Coimbra and the surrounding towns are facing very serious problems due to the floods, some of them are isolated... The situation is extremely unstable."

Prime Minister Luís Montenegro went to Coimbra to oversee the emergency response and said authorities were "at the limits of our capacity to control the water."

The latest flood came after a series of storms that have hit central and southern Portugal since late January, blowing off roofs, flooding towns, and leaving hundreds of thousands of people without electricity for days. At least 15 people have died as a result of the storms.

Municipal authorities ordered the precautionary evacuation of around 3,000 people from the areas at the highest risk of flooding from the Mondego River. Police conducted door-to-door checks and transported residents to shelters.

The Portuguese environmental agency APA said it expected an "exceptional peak flow period" in the Mondego River until Saturday.

As the waters rose, political pressure also mounted. Interior Minister Maria Lúcia Amaral resigned late Tuesday after facing criticism over the government's handling of the flood response.

In a presidential statement, she said she felt she lacked the "necessary personal and political conditions" to continue in her role. Montenegro will temporarily take over the responsibilities.

Opposition figures criticized the slow and insufficient response to the Kristin storm, which caused widespread destruction two weeks ago.

Satellite images obtained from the European Space Agency show areas along the Tagus River northeast of Lisbon, where water levels have been rising since late December. The river has overflowed its banks following the Kristin, Leonardo, and Marta storms.