Briton among 42 killed as flooding turns Madeira into sea of mud

A British tourist was swept to her death when the taxi she was travelling in was caught up in the flash floods that have killed at least 42 people on the holiday island of Madeira. Pamela Gaines, 50, was travelling between hotels with her husband and another British couple when waters from a swollen river engulfed their vehicle in the hills above the capital, Funchal. The taxi driver was also killed, and a five-year-old local boy died near the same spot when surging waters caught up with the car he was in with his parents. The father, Norberto Norberto, whose wife Eulalia is missing, said that he had lost control of the car as the family exited a bypass to drive into the city. “I told my wife to make a run for it with our child and that’s what she did,” he told the national newspaper, Diario de Noticias.

The Portuguese island, which is popular with pensioners and holidaymakers from Britain, was a scene of devastation yesterday: cars were overturned, roofs were ripped off and roads swept away. When the flash floods struck on Saturday after overnight winds and torrential rain, those trying desperately to escape the brown torrents of water were washed off their feet. Others clung to railings to prevent themselves suffering the same fate.

More than 120 people were being treated in hospitals, and more were feared missing. Residents looking for missing loved ones were directed to the resort’s international airport, where a makeshift morgue has been set up.

Regional authorities said that only a few foreign tourists were among those hurt in the floods. The casualties included Mrs Gaines’s husband, George, 54, from Driffield, North Humberside, who was treated in hospital for minor injuries along with a friend, Roger Wilson, before being discharged. Mr Wilson’s wife, Gillian, suffered chest, abdomen and leg injuries but was last night in a stable condition. Simon Burgbage described how mudslides cascaded down the slopes surrounding Funchal. “We heard a loud noise, like rolling thunder, the ground shook and then we realised it was water coming down,” he said.

Cathy Sayers, another holidaymaker from Britain, said that the island’s capital Funchal was like a ghost town. “The drains just cannot cope with the water that’s coming down from the mountains — they are just overfilled with sludge,” she said.” Troops and rescuers were yesterday using their bare hands and excavation equipment to dig through mud-filled houses and streets after the floods tore through Funchal and the south of the island. In a grim indication that the death toll may rise, more pathologists were also being dispatched to the island.

Joey Cubelo wrote:
People please help one another don't loose hope and keep on praying for faster recovery of Madeira.Now we will realize that what is happening is because of our carelessness to our other earth. It is a lesson for all of us around the world and we cannot blame anyone for this. Let us help one another and be responsible enough for the future of the next generation. It is the time to show our concern to our environment. Its nice to live in a peaceful and wonderful place like Madeira...

David Davies wrote:
Madeira is a beautiful island and Funchal was a clean and friendly city with none of the thuggishness that has spoiled other resorts such as the Canaries. A great shame to see the damage caused but they will recover. Don't stop taking holidays there, they need tourists now more than ever.

From The Times (adapted)
February 22, 2010