Why does Lisbon turn purple?

Lisbon’s great earthquake struck 271 years ago this morning. It’s Sunday, 1 November. Twenty-three degrees. Air quality: 32 to 58 (Good to Moderate). Here’s what you need to know.

🗞️ TOP STORY

271 YEARS AFTER THE GREAT EARTHQUAKE, HOW READY IS LISBON FOR THE NEXT ONE?

At 9:40 this morning, fire services across Portugal and boats on the Tagus will sound their sirens together, at the moment the earthquake hit Lisbon on 1 November 1755. Last night, more than 40 landmarks in 15 districts and regions, including Cristo Rei, the Sé cathedral and Praça do Comércio, were lit purple for the Remember 1755 campaign, run with Quake, the city’s earthquake museum. The campaign began in Lisbon alone in 2024 and now reaches 70% of the country’s districts and regions.

The 1755 quake brought down most of the city. Then the river came in, with waves of about five metres reaching as far as today’s Rua Augusta arch, and fires broke out across the city, many from candles lit in churches for All Saints’ Day. Estimates of the dead range from 10,000 to 90,000.

Luís Matias, who studies seismic hazard at the University of Lisbon, says the danger comes less from how often the ground shakes than from how many people, businesses and old buildings are packed into the region. Much of the historic city is unreinforced masonry, and the gaioleiro blocks of the early 20th century, a cheaper copy of the timber-cage Pombaline frame used to rebuild the Baixa, are considered especially fragile. Of the Lisbon homes in an Idealista analysis this year, 62% were built before 2000, ahead of today’s stricter seismic standards.

The city council’s ReSist programme has assessed 1,593 residential buildings in municipal housing estates and is mapping priority evacuation routes and shelter points. But a scheme to help owners strengthen private buildings, meant to start this year, hadn’t got going by the summer, according to critics, and in August only five of Lisbon’s 24 parishes had a published local emergency plan. Most homes aren’t insured against a quake either. Only around one in five has earthquake cover, and the government is planning compulsory disaster insurance, as we reported on 24 October.

There’s plenty you can do at home. Civil protection advises fixing heavy furniture to the walls, keeping heavy objects on low shelves, agreeing a family meeting point and keeping an emergency kit with water, a torch, a battery or wind-up radio, a first aid kit, copies of documents, some cash and a power bank. When the shaking starts, drop, cover and hold on, and don’t rush for the stairs. Afterwards, turn off the gas and electricity, keep away from the beach in case of a tsunami, and use your phone only for emergencies, on 112.

Bottom line: Lisbon will shake again one day, and while the city’s own preparations are patchy, the most useful ones are those you can make at home.

⚡ QUICK HITS

Thousands of housing protesters returned to Rossio on Saturday. Several thousand people filled the square after marching from Largo de Camões, according to organisers, and the Acampada Lisboa movement planned to pitch tents and spend the night there, although the PSP, the Public Security Police, had said tents couldn’t stay past 12:30am. Rita Silva of Casa para Viver, Homes to Live, said the demonstrations would continue. On Thursday, the prime minister said the rent bill would stay, though it could be amended before the final vote. Separately, prosecutors have proposed provisionally suspending proceedings against 27 people detained at the Lisbon camp, and the Ombudsman has urgently asked the PSP for information about last weekend’s baton charges.

Petrol prices are set to fall again on Monday, while diesel goes up. The Automóvel Club de Portugal, the national motoring association, forecasts petrol down 2.5 cents to an average of €2.008 a litre for the week of 2 to 8 November, and diesel up 2.5 cents to €2.215. The figures are forecasts and can move with oil prices, and prices vary between stations.

Border queues at Lisbon airport are at their shortest in four years. The interior minister, Luís Neves, told parliament that the average maximum wait at border control in September was 68 minutes, the lowest for that month in four years and 47% down on 2025, even though passenger numbers rose 19.2%. He credited more police officers on the border, reorganised procedures and new equipment.

Parliament has voted to ban keeping pets permanently chained up or shut out on balconies. Two bills from the animal-rights party PAN, approved on Thursday, also ban the sale and use of collars that can cause pain, injury or stress. The governing Social Democrats and CDS-People’s Party voted against. Once the law is published, the government has 90 days to set out how it will work.

There's a flood of AI news right now, and most of it is written to scare you or hype something up. But what if there was a way to get the AI news without the spin?

That’s exactly what this free newsletter does. Every morning, they send you the AI news worth knowing and explain why it actually matters for your life and job. After one week of reading this, you'll know where AI really stands, where it's heading, and which headlines are actually worth paying attention to.

It’s called The Rundown, and over 2 million professionals from companies like Apple, Google, and NASA already read it daily.

Sign up for free

A quick note: today’s ad comes from one of our network partners, The Rundown AI. Partnerships like this one are what keep The Lisbon Letter free to read every morning, and we thank them for it.

🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY

QUAKE (BELÉM)

On the anniversary of the earthquake, the place to go is Quake, the museum that recreates it. Instead of glass cases and dates, it takes you through 1 November 1755 room by room, with an earthquake simulator that shakes the floor beneath you, an audio guide in four languages and a wristband that lets you interact with the displays as you go.

It’s on Rua Cais da Alfândega Velha in Belém, next to the National Coach Museum and a short walk from MAAT and the Jerónimos Monastery. Its founder, Ricardo Clemente, is also behind the Remember 1755 campaign lighting up the country this weekend. Visits run in timed sessions in small groups, with a set time in each room, and take about an hour and a half.

It’s open every day from 10am, with last entry at 6pm, and there are child and senior tickets, so it works for families. Tickets are sold for a set date and time, so book online before you go.

→ Find them here ←

Insider tip: the National Coach Museum is a two-minute walk away, so pair the two for a half-day in Belém.

📅 WHAT’S ON

See you tomorrow morning.

Reach Lisbon’s English-speaking community, every morning. Advertise.