The Portuguese population is among the most skeptical in the European Union regarding the ability of national authorities to deal with natural disasters, such as wildfires or floods, according to a Eurobarometer released today.
According to the report, 66% of Portuguese people consider that national authorities are not well prepared to deal with such occurrences, the fourth-highest rate in the entire European Union (EU), surpassed only by Cyprus (67%), Lithuania (69%), and Greece (76%).
Of the Portuguese surveyed, 28% consider that national authorities are “quite well prepared,” below the European average (40%).
With regard to local or regional authorities, Portugal records the second-highest rate of skepticism in the EU: 69% of Portuguese consider that these authorities are not well prepared, the same percentage as that recorded in Lithuania and only exceeded by Greece (78%).
Asked whether they feel personally well prepared to deal with disasters or emergencies that may arise in their area of residence, the Portuguese again are among the most concerned: 66% say no, the second-highest share in the EU, again surpassed only by Greece (72%).
Conversely, the Portuguese are among the most optimistic about the capacity of authorities at the global level to handle natural disasters: 58% consider that they are well prepared, the second-highest rate in the EU.
Portugal is also the second EU country where the population is most in favour of the EU helping to coordinate the response to national disasters, with 97% of respondents considering that this coordination is important.
Portugal is likewise the second EU country, only surpassed by Spain, where the population most agrees with a strengthening in the bloc’s future coordination actions: 97% express support for that reinforcement.
In a press release, the European Commission states that this Eurobarometer shows that Europeans express a “very strong support for a coordinated European approach” to disaster preparedness and response.
“Nine in ten Europeans consider it important that the EU help coordinate the response to disasters, both on its territory and in other countries. Furthermore, 94% agree that Member States should support each other when a disaster exceeds a country’s capacity to respond,” the release adds.
For the European executive, “these results underline the importance that Europeans continue to attribute to solidarity, to preparation and to collective action in the face of disasters that do not know borders and that increasingly require joint solutions.”
This Eurobarometer was conducted between May 26 and June 15, 2026. In total, 26,456 Europeans were interviewed. In Portugal, 1,060 interviews were conducted.
