Condeixa-a-Nova, Portugal, Feb. 3, 2026 (Lusa) - The director of the National Museum of Conímbriga told the Lusa news agency on Tuesday that the mosaic workshop has suffered irreversible damage, that the excavations are flooded, and that the space will reopen once electricity is restored.
"There is irreversible damage to the Mosaic Workshop, which is about 40 years old and is the only mosaic workshop in the country, and it cannot be repaired. We will have to consider the possibility of building a new workshop," said Vítor Dias The workshop suffered "damage to part of the roof, caused by the fall of one of the trees on the public road" and, "fortunately, the workshop itself was not damaged, only the structure of the building, which, as it is very old, will not be a good option to rebuild on what remains, and deserves a new project".
In the vicinity of the National Museum of Conímbriga, "several trees fell", one affecting the workshop and another, "a large tree, dragging the buried power cable and breaking it with its roots, leading to a power cut and, consequently, the closure" of the space.
The cable "dates back to the museum's creation in 1962, so it is not overhead, but runs some 60 metres underground" and, therefore, "it will take some time to repair" and, until then, "only a generator can be used".
"Only when we restore the power will we be able to reopen safely for people to circulate in the space. But we also understand that E-Redes, which we have already contacted, has other priorities. We are waiting," he said.
Other damage has already been verified in the museum space in Condeixa-a-Nova, in the district of Coimbra, is located "in the excavation area, which has been ongoing since 2021, where there was severe flooding" of the space.
The director is also concerned about the Casa dos Repuxos, "although the roof has apparently held up well, everything seems to be fine, an inspection will have to be carried out to confirm that everything is indeed fine" and this "can only be done with a specialised technical inspection".
"In other words, it is not possible to quantify the damage. It is more likely that only in the medium to long term will we be able to identify and quantify the value of the damage," he said.
For now, the work "in the coming days is to cut down the fallen trees and remove all the wood," then, "as soon as the power is restored, the museum will be able to reopen, albeit with some restrictions" in the space.
Ten people have died since last week as a result of the bad weather. Civil Protection recorded five deaths directly associated with the passage of storm Kristin, and the Marinha Grande City Council announced another fatality, to which were added four deaths recorded due to people falling from roofs (during repairs) or carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator.
The total or partial destruction of homes, businesses and equipment, falling trees and structures, road and transport service disruptions or restrictions, particularly on railway lines, school closures and power, water and communication outages are the main material consequences of the storm, which has left several hundred people injured and homeless.
Leiria, Coimbra and Santarém are the districts with the most damage.
The government has declared a state of emergency for 69 municipalities until next Sunday and announced a package of support measures worth up to €2.5 billion.
IYN/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
