Part of the false ceiling inside the Oeiras Parque shopping centre collapsed on Sunday after heavy rain hit parts of the Greater Lisbon area, but no one was injured, according to Correio da Manhã.
The ceiling gave way near the entrance to several stores, in an area used by shoppers passing through the mall. Firefighters from the Paço de Arcos volunteer brigade were called to the scene. The affected stores were closed and the area where the collapse happened was cordoned off.
Oeiras Parque is one of the largest shopping centres in the Lisbon region, drawing large numbers of visitors on weekends.
Festival in Viana do Castelo Also Disrupted
The bad weather also affected the Romaria d'Agonia in Viana do Castelo, a major religious and cultural festival in northern Portugal. Organisers postponed the fireworks serenade that was due to close the celebrations on Sunday, along with the accompanying craft fair, to a date yet to be announced.
More Than 1,300 Lightning Strikes Recorded
By mid-afternoon on Sunday, the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) had detected more than 1,300 lightning strikes over the previous 24 hours, across mainland Portugal and off the west coast. Most of the strikes were recorded along the coastline.
IPMA is Portugal's national weather agency and issues storm warnings on a colour-coded scale, with yellow marking the lowest of three alert levels. The agency had placed several districts under yellow warning as the storm moved through the country.
Unstable Weather to Continue This Week
The unusually stormy weather for August was linked to a depression that formed over the Atlantic, with its frontal surface moving close to Portugal's west coast, IPMA said.
For Monday, the agency placed 13 districts under yellow warning for heavy rain and thunderstorms, with only Setúbal, Portalegre, Évora, Beja and Faro excluded. Rain was expected to be heaviest in the Centre and North regions, and IPMA said it could not rule out localised extreme wind events.
Wind gusts of up to 70 km/h were forecast, while maximum temperatures were set to drop to between 22C and 26C across most of the mainland, though they could still reach 30C in the Alentejo region. At sea, waves were expected to reach up to three metres. IPMA said the unstable conditions were likely to persist through the rest of the week.
