Floods in Madeira killed 42 people by Magdalena Rosova

Strong rain in Portuguese island Madeira caused huge floods and mudslides, which killed at least 42 people. Emergency workers on Madeira will continue in their rescue work Monday, but they warned that the number of victims will probably grow. Whole Sunday rescue workers were digging through houses and streets full of mud trying to rescue people. The strong flood demolished houses, overturned cars and brought death to many people. The government in Lisbon immediately sent medical teams, rescue teams, divers and sniffer dogs to Madeira. The government will further announce three days of national mourning. More bodies are expected to be found in the mud that swallowed ! people as they tried to escape from their houses. Mayor of the Madeira's capital Funchal, Miguel Albuquerque, agrees that there are still more bodies under the mud. The strong rain ended on Sunday and completely devastated the island. Roofs were ripped off buildings, cars overturned and houses and street buried under the mud, power and telephone lines were torn down. Some houses were filled with the mud up to the second floor. At least 42 people died and more than 120 were injured. Among victims there was one Briton, a few British nationals were injured. A shopping centre in the capital was destroyed as well and rescue workers are afraid that there are more people trapped in an underground parking which is still under water. A temporary morgue has been set up at the airport, all the bodies haven't been identified yet. Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates traveled to Funchal on Saturday night and promised aid for Madeira and help people to recover from the disast! er.

related story (sgx16529): http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100220/wl_nm/us_portugal_madeir...

by Magdalena Rosova for SigEx Ventures (http://sigexventures.com)

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