Portugal closes all schools and non-essential services over Storm Charles

Portugal closed all schools and shuttered non-essential public services on Wednesday as Storm Charles headed for the country’s mainland.Streets were largely deserted ahead of the arrival of the major Atlantic storm, after the government told people to stay at home. Heavy rain and rough seas were expected to batter the Portuguese coast, with wind gusts of up to 140 kph.It was the first time in living memory that Portugal’s roughly 8,000 schools had cancelled classes nationwide due to a forecast storm.The bad weather has left part of the country on hold. One of the most heavily affected sectors is transport, with long-distance coach services halted, cuts and restrictions on rail and river links, flights cancelled and ships subject to restrictions in ports. On Tuesday, thousands of people suffered a power cut.In the capital, Lisbon, buses drove through the city without passengers, and some streets flooded because of clogged drains. A national supermarket chain closed its stores.One of the main national retail chains, Pingo Doce, closed all its supermarkets, and even an international technology conference attended by around 70,000 people in Lisbon called off the day’s events. The Web Summit, being held in Lisbon, was scheduled for the second day of its event.The government has ordered remote working in the civil service, while telecommunications operators and insurance companies have reinforced their…