The announcement was made by the Prime Minister at the end of an extraordinary Council of Ministers convened to analyse "the entire situation relating to the fires and their consequences", in a meeting chaired by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, at the invitation of Luís Montenegro.

On Monday, the Government extended the state of alert due to the risk of fires until the end of Thursday, in light of the weather forecasts.

The law determines that the state of emergency is declared by the Government, by means of a resolution of the Council of Ministers.

The Prime Minister explained that the declaration of a state of emergency will allow the Government's multidisciplinary team – coordinated by the Deputy Minister for Territorial Cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida – to “offer the most immediate and urgent support to those who do not have shelter at home, accommodation for the coming days, to those who have been left without the means to feed themselves, to clothe themselves, to have access to the most basic daily necessities”.

“Within the scope of this state of emergency in these territories, we are also already working with the Regional Coordination and Development Commissions and the National Institute of Statistics to assess all the damage that is being caused, so that the response can be as rapid as possible”, he assured.

The Prime Minister reiterated that “there are people who have been left homeless, there are people who have been prevented from going to work, there are companies that are unable to produce”.

“The Portuguese men and women and companies are examples of the bravery of the Portuguese people and, therefore, deserve speed and agility from the public authorities and the Government in particular in providing all the necessary responses”, he said.

Montenegro stated, as he had done on Monday, that the Government is “well aware that these difficult times are not over yet”.

“We will still have to continue to give everything we have and ask for help from our partners and friends so that we can strengthen the protection of people and heritage”, he warned.

The Prime Minister began his statement, without the right to questions, by thanking the President of the Republic “for the expression of his institutional and strategic solidarity”.

“Secondly, we would like to reiterate our regret at the passing of three brave firefighters who were at the service of all of us, and express our gratitude to all those who are still on the ground protecting people and heritage of the Portuguese people”, he said, promising that the Government will not “give up”.

Since Sunday, seven people have died and around 40 have been injured, two seriously, in the fires that have hit the northern and central regions of the country, in municipalities such as Oliveira de Azeméis, Albergaria-a-Velha and Sever do Vouga, in the district of Aveiro, which have destroyed dozens of houses and forced the closure of roads and motorways, such as the A1, A25 and A13.

The most recent victims are three firefighters who died today in an accident while on their way to a fire in Tábua, in the district of Coimbra.