Floods, mudslides kill 42 in Portugal
FUNCHAL, Madeira Islands. February 22. KAZINFORM. Rescue workers in Madeira dug through heaps of mud, boulders and debris Sunday, searching for victims buried by floods and mudslides that have killed at least 42 people on the popular Portuguese island; Kazinform refers to China Daily.
Residents looking for missing loved ones were directed by local authorities to the resort's international airport, where a makeshift morgue has been set up.
Social services spokesman Francisco Jardim Ramos said not all the bodies had been identified. The center is equipped with psychiatric, psychological and social counseling services, he said.
More than 120 other people were injured and an unknown number were missing, possibly swept away or smothered, authorities said, adding the death could still rise. Of 248 people who were forced to flee their homes for temporary shelters, 85 have been allowed to return home, Ramos said.
The worst storm to hit Madeira since 1993 lashed the south of the Atlantic Ocean island, including the capital, Funchal, Saturday, turning some streets into torrents of mud, water and rolling debris; Kazinform cites China Daily. See www.chinadaily.com.cn for full version.