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.

Rescue teams have been deployed by the army and medical reinforcements are being sent from Portugal. Cars, houses and bridges were all washed away and muddy cascades of water have flooded into the capital city, Funchal. Residents say the event came without warning. The European Union has received a request for help from Madeira’s regional president Alberto Joao Jardim.

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.

According to Timesonline Steve Salter, a British holidaymaker who had arrived on the island on one of the last flights before the airport was closed, said that he had seen torrents of water flooding down the mountain towards the port. People were abandoning their cars and screaming with fear, Salter said.

According to dailymail.co.uk the island’s government said it was finding temporary accommodation for hundreds left homeless by the flooding.Local authorities called in employees to operate heavy machinery like bulldozers to clear roads and remove debris.People in low-lying areas of Funchal fled as flood waters rose, state-run Lusa news agency said.

Flooding is not unknown on Madeira, but nothing of this severity has occurred in living memory, according to a local resource.Conditions eased last night and the authorities were making temporary shelters available for several hundred people who were left homeless, though further rain is forecast today.

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