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Madeira Floods: Is This A Coincidence Or We Heading Towards A Huge Catastrophe?

There has been widespread flooding and mudslides on the Portuguese holiday island of Madeira, resulting in at least 38 deaths so far, and over 100 people injured. Over 250 people have had to leave their homes in the worst storm since 1993 with torrential rain leading to floods as reported an onlykent.com.

As a safety measure UK tourists on the island have been cautioned to stay in their hotels. Less than 5 British people have been taken to hospital. A foreign office spokesman said they are providing consular help and have received no confirmed deaths of Britons so far.The local civil protection service was “overwhelmed” by calls for help, a duty officer told Reuters news agency.

As a safety measure UK tourists on the island have been cautioned to stay in their hotels. Less than 5 British people have been taken to hospital. A foreign office spokesman said they are providing consular help and have received no confirmed deaths of Britons so far.However it seems that a 50-year-old British woman is missing and fears for her are grave as she has not been seen since the taxi she was travelling in was swept away. The woman was in a taxi with 3 other passengers. Both of the male passengers are safe but the other female is receiving treatment in hospital.

“The drains just cannot cope with the water that’s coming down from the mountains – they are just overfilled with sludge.”There had not really been any warning that it would be quite so bad, a local lady said.”I think everyone is extremely shocked that this has happened at this time of year,” she said.

Ramos gave no estimate of the number of people missing, saying these were unreliable as many of the people initially unaccounted for were returning home on Sunday from temporary shelters after being unable to communicate with their families when mobile networks failed.

Regional government leader Alberto Joao Jardim said the authorities were making temporary shelters available for hundreds of people left homeless.The BBC Weather Centre says the severe weather was due to a low pressure system, and that while Madeira can expect further rain with heavy downpours on Sunday, there is no danger of a repeat of the flash floods.

As appeared on todayonline Portuguese authorities say they are flying out aid to the island of Madeira where at least 32 people have died after heavy rain caused flooding and mudslides.The national authority for civil protection said in a statement that a medical team backed up by divers and rescue experts is set to fly to the popular tourist destination archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean aboard a C-130 transport.

Along with Funchal, other towns and villages on the island’s south coast are thought to have been worst hit, particularly the district of Ribeira Brava, where a number of people died.A major concern for the emergency services was for residents of the Nuns valley, a mountainous area that rescue workers have had difficulty reaching according to Guardian.

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