The initiative aims to equip the country with effective protection mechanisms against the eventuality of a high-intensity earthquake, prioritising the reinforcement of building safety and essential infrastructure. According to data reported by CNN Portugal, this represents an unprecedented long-term commitment by the State, setting measurable targets leading up to 2055, the year marking the 300th anniversary of the devastating earthquake that destroyed Lisbon in 1755.

The plan entails comprehensive mapping and technical inspections targeting facilities of high social and operational importance.

Structures prioritised for assessment and potential reinforcement work include educational institutions (such as schools and daycares), hospitals, water and electricity supply networks, and other vital public services. The goal of these audits is to identify the most critical vulnerabilities across the country, establish action priorities, and determine where urgent intervention is needed to ensure the stability of networks and buildings.

This strategy stems from warnings issued to state authorities by experts in geology and seismic engineering. Following a meeting with these specialists, the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, confirmed that the political conditions exist to undertake this State commitment. The government’s central aim is to design a cross-cutting program that transcends party turnover and ensures continuous implementation across multiple legislative terms.

This long-term prevention approach also garnered support from the President of the Republic—António José Seguro was the first official to meet with the scientific community and advocated for placing seismic risk reduction at the top of national priorities. Meanwhile, Miguel Pinto Luz acknowledged that the academic and technical communities had been warning for decades of the need to prepare the country. Yet, successive governments had failed to structure a response commensurate with those warnings.

In the program’s initial phase, a key measure will be revising regulations and codes applicable to the construction and urban rehabilitation sectors. This regulatory component is being developed in cooperation with the National Laboratory for Civil Engineering (LNEC), the Instituto Superior Técnico, and the Order of Engineers. This organisation recently established a specialised committee dedicated to Risk Management.

Although an official date for the public presentation of the final document has not yet been set, the Minister's office clarified that intensive technical work is ongoing.

The process involves consulting various sector bodies, including the Portuguese Society for Earthquake Engineering and those responsible for the Lisbon City Council’s ReSist Program, to consolidate a set of concrete measures to substantially enhance national response capacity in catastrophic scenarios substantially.