Heavy rain, floods batter Lisbon, residents urged to stay home

Heavy rain battered the Portuguese capital on Tuesday, flooding tunnels, sweeping away cars and forcing authorities to suspend bus and tram services
and close some main roads.
The Lisbon mayor’s office put the city on a “red” weather warning and urged people to stay home and avoid commuting to the capital in the estuary of the Tagus River.
Since midnight, emergency services have reported 275 incidents in Lisbon and the neighbouring Setubal district, including flooded streets, tunnels and train stations. Some shops and restaurants were semi-submerged.
Civil Protection Commander Andre Fernandes told a news conference it “would not be easy” to return the situation to normal as the rainfall was likely to intensify.
The mayor’s office said city buses and trams were not operating, the metro was not fully functioning and a number of train stations were inaccessible due to flooding.