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.

Authorities flew more rescue teams and military engineers from the mainland to help the Atlantic island where a heavy rainstorm on Saturday unleashed floods and mudslides, washing away bridges, blocking roads with rocks and mud and cutting off parts of the island.

Pedro Barbosa, deputy chief of the regional civil protection service, told Reuters one village, Curral das Freiras, was still cut off and could only be contacted by radio. “We know there are some victims there, not a high number, but we will only know the details when rescuers reach the village later today,” he said.

“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.

The clean-up will take some time, with bridges washed away, trees felled and roads blocked by rocks and mud. And, while no further flash floods are expected, meteorologists say the amount of rainfall on Saturday exceeded the monthly average.

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.

Guardian reported the storms were the deadliest to hit Madeira since October 1993 when eight people died. Madeira’s regional president, Alberto Joo Jardim, spoke to European Commission president Jos Manuel Barroso to appeal for emergency aid.

Author: John Mcgregor is an experienced journalist. Quick Poll: Do you think we should be afraid of a worldwide catastrophe soon? Vote Yes or Vote No . You will get a Free $10 Coupon to play Bingo online.