The Government of the Azores has approved a draft Regional Legislative Decree for the creation of the Flood Risk Management Plan of the Autonomous Region of the Azores (PGRIA), being in compliance with the Directive issued by the European Parliament and Council establishing the framework for flood risk assessment and management.
 
PGRIA takes the form of a sectoral plan and its main strategic goal concerns the reduction of potential adverse consequences to human health, the environment, cultural heritage, infrastructures and economic activities. In this regard, it defines measures for the prevention, protection and provision of an adequate response to the specificities of each of the five areas identified with significant potential risks.
 
This Plan covers the Autonomous Region of the Azores. It has classifies and prioritised flood risks on each of the nine islands of the archipelago, identifying five hydrographic basins distributed by the islands of Flores, Terceira and São Miguel with flood recurrence risks.
 
The decision was announced today by the Regional Assistant Secretary of the Presidency for Parliamentary Affairs, Isabel Rodrigues, at the presentation of the press release from the Council of the Government that met in Vila do Corvo.
 
Under the policies to reduce financial charges in the regional business sector, the Government of the Azores has decided to authorise the granting of guarantees to SPRHI and Saudaçor, amounting five million Euros each. They are intended to strengthen the effort of saving and decreasing financial costs through the restructuring of existing financing with low interest rates and without any change in overall funding values.
 
This represents an annual saving of about 300 thousand Euros in financial burden.
 
The Government has taken decisions in the area of culture, announcing the awarding of the contract work of a new Vila do Porto Museum centre on Santa Maria for the price of 1.3 million Euros, with a completion period of 365 days.
 
The new museum centre, to be built in the Historic Centre of Vila do Porto, will focus on Santa Maria's history that began in the settlement period and will be coordinated with the House of Fossils; the latter is dedicated to the paleontological heritage and geological history of the island, which is the oldest of the Azores.
 
The Government has also approved a draft Regional Legislative Decree establishing the legal framework on the museums of the Autonomous Region of the Azores.
 
This scheme takes into account the nature and the specific characteristics of the archipelago in cultural, social and geographical aspects, addressing the relevance of the identification, safeguarding, conservation and promotion of the Region's heritage and culture.
 
The legislation also establishes the creation of the Network of Visiting Museums and Collections of the Azores. It comprises the institutions under the administration of the Regional Directorate for Culture, namely regional and island museums as well as the museums and collections belonging to private associations; the latter represents an innovation in terms of national museum practices.