Storm Charles raises risk of production stoppages

Portuguese business groups say Storm Charles could have a significant impact on companies, with risks ranging from partial or total production stoppages to transport disruption and tourism cancellations. The storm may affect supply chains, logistics, airports and business continuity across several sectors.

Luís Miguel Ribeiro, head of business association AEP, told ECO that extreme weather can damage facilities, equipment and infrastructure while also hitting production, logistics and supply chains. He said the sectors most exposed include agriculture, construction, manufacturing, transport and tourism, but added that power outages and mobility problems could trigger wider knock-on effects across the economy.

Industry representatives said it is still too early to measure the scale of the losses, which will depend on the storm’s intensity. Agricultural association CAP warned farmers are almost always hit by events of this kind and called for stronger prevention and planning. In tourism, hotel association AHP said cancellations or postponements of bookings are possible, while the Confederation of Tourism of Portugal said it was particularly concerned about the impact on airports and possible flight cancellations.

Logistics and passenger transport operators are already adjusting operations. Luís Simões said adverse conditions were causing some road transport constraints and that more significant disruption was expected in distribution and delivery services. ANA said airport operations in Lisbon, Porto and Madeira would be constrained on Wednesday and that cancellations were expected, while TAP had already started adjusting its schedule. Rede Expressos and Flixbus also cancelled services, according to the companies.

Business confederation CIP said it was sending companies operational and workplace safety recommendations, including teleworking where possible and more flexible schedules. Several sector groups told ECO that more frequent extreme weather is forcing companies to invest more in contingency planning, risk management and resilience measures to limit financial losses and speed up recovery.

Originally published at Eco.pt