English Story

马德拉发生洪涝灾害 葡萄牙将进入全国哀悼日

Portugal is expected to announce three days of national mourning following the floods that have hit Madeira island, killing 42 people.

马德拉群岛遭洪水袭击,致使42人死亡,葡萄牙将要宣布为期三天的全国哀悼日。

Officials say the announcement will be made at an emergency cabinet meeting convened(集合,召唤) to discuss the crisis.

Search teams are continuing to look for victims amid debris(碎片,残骸) , after mud and rock swept through towns on Saturday.

Cars were buried, buildings damaged, and people swept along in raging(愤怒的,狂暴的) waters through the regional capital, Funchal.

Specialist army teams are working to get through to communities that remain cut off, with roads blocked and bridges collapsed.

There were fears that the death toll(死亡人数) could rise, particularly in three remote parts of the island, officials said.

Funchal Mayor Miguel Albuquerque said: "It is very probable that we will find more bodies," AFP news agency reported.

Paramedics(护理人员) and divers have been sent from the Portuguese mainland.

A temporary morgue(陈尸所,资料室) has been set up at the international airport, which reopened for international flights on Sunday.

More than 120 people were injured in Saturday's rainstorms in which the rainfall exceeded the monthly average, meteorologists(气象学家) said.

Aid request

Water, power and telecommunications were cut in some areas, with roofs ripped off buildings and roads buckled by the amount of water.

About 250 were made homeless and are staying in temporary shelters.

Prime Minister Jose Socrates, who visited the island on Sunday, said he was "profoundly(深深地,深刻地) shocked" by the severity of the floods.

Portugal has requested emergency funds from the EU, and Spain has offered help.

Construction firms on the island offered equipment to rescue teams to help shift the debris.

Madeira, located about 900km (560miles) from the Portuguese mainland, is popular with foreign tourists.

One British woman was killed in the floods, the Foreign Office said, and a small number of Britons were in hospital on Madeira.