Madeira News Blog

Today’s Photo – Many thanks to Sheila … "A rainbow emerges from the clouds to slip into the sea off Santa Cruz".

I am of the impression that the weather is a very popular subject for many blog visitors, and I saw this website and thought of you. It has 3 hourly advance forecast slots for temperature, wind speed and direction, humidity and chances of rain (in % terms). So rather than planning ones day based on a very general daily weather forecast, those in Funchal can plan their shopping trips in between thunderstorms (theoretically). FUNCHAL WEATHER

Being the season for Eggnog, did you know you can make this sickly drink with our very own MADEIRA WINE

I had a free 1.8 metre Christmas tree delivered yesterday, as did neighbours, so I assume it was from the council … an environmentally friendly recyclable plastic one I guess, but I didn’t open the box to see. I think most people who wanted an Xmas tree would have brought one by now, so probably a waste of time for this year. Anyone want it? It’s free if you want to collect it.

What make Madeira Unique? Students answer the question in this video.

Gripe A detection machine in the airports of the Region – Suspect cases will be accompanied by the health authorities. Madeira and Porto Santo airports started yesterday a monitoring system for people arriving at the respective airports, to check if they are potential carriers of the swine flu H1N1 virus. 3 nurses will be based in each airport to check the results of people passing through the sensors, which will report elevated body temperatures in disembarking passengers. Any passengers that trigger the system will be asked questions, and if it seems that they are possible Gripe A carriers they will be put in the charge of a nurse until the virus has been confirmed or otherwise.

Civil protection emits warning about rain and strong winds – The alert continues until Christmas eve. Strong and very strong winds from the Southwest will hit Madeira, with gusts up to 130 km / hour in high places. Rain and heavy downpours are also forecasted, with the conditions for thunderstorms. The warning is given not to venture into high and exposed areas on foot or by car, and to be aware of the potential for a little flooding, rock falls, and landslides.

Sharp drop in exports of Embroidery – Embroiderers will have an increase of 3%. The year 2009 saw a sharp drop in exports of Embroidery. Data provided by the Secretary for the Environment and Natural Resources show that the export of this product fell by about 25% over the previous year. Manuel António Correia acknowledges that the sector is experiencing some difficulties, and that this situation has influenced the government’s decision to set wage increases for home-working embroiderers by 3% in 2010. The announcement was made at the ceremony of awards at this year’s best embroiderers.

Many thanks to Sue for this article.

Rivers overflow and storm causes damage. The rivers of St. Vincent and the Magdalene Sea overflowed last night sowing panic and chaos in those areas. The most serious took place in St. Vincent, where a motorist was surprised at the speed of the rising waters, left the car and ended up falling to the river bank. Moreover, the streets of the mountain village were covered with mud. Thanks to assistance from the Fire Department of San Vicente and Porto Moniz they managed to rescue the man with virtually no injuries. The corporation had almost not enough hands to cope with the number of requests for help that arrived at headquarters, including the Police station which was one of several areas flooded. The storm and the consequent rise in the water of the river, forced the closure of via expresso 4, connecting Ribeira Brava to Sao Vicente,  the traffic being diverted to the former regional road (Encumeada). This caused a massive traffic jam, as explained by the commander of the Regional Civil Protection Madeira, Rui Neri. "Hundreds of cars were stopped which caused many complications, because everyone wanted to get home," stated Commander, describing the situation in St. Vincent and Madalena do Mar "very complicated". But the rest of the island was not spared by bad weather, with record floods, landslides, falling trees and lampposts slightly throughout the Region, due to gusts of wind blowing up to 130 km / h. In Funchal, the two corporations did not rest with the falling trees in the hotel zone, Avenida Zarco, Monte, Rotunda do Infante, District of Nazareth, where a car was damaged. Also the lighting fell from the effects of strong wind gusts, with a taxi being hit by a pole near the House of Light and Christmas decorations set up on the pier causing it to collapse partially. In the area of the Star, the way to the Nun’s Valley, a landslide hit a car, but caused no casualties because the occupants left on time. In Camara de Lobos, more specifically in the Strait, a tree struck two parked cars, blocking the road. In the same area, Nogueira, a zone of São Lourenço, a tree fell on a bus, causing no injuries, forcing the Fire Department to redouble its efforts to clear the road. In the municipality of Santa Cruz, there were power cuts that left some locations in Canico and Camacha in the dark. The North, in Santana, there is no record of flooding. The river overflowed Faial, and a collapse in Fajã Cedro Gordo blocked the road leaving dozens of cars, including a bus, blocked. Firefighters, technical authority and the Government were in place. For all these reasons, and because the weather conditions will continue at least until this afternoon, the commander Rui Neri asks the population to avoid leaving the house and riding in a car. "If you do, try to avoid areas most at risk, circulating under trees or other places that may be a risk," advised the person responsible for civil protection, stressing the need for people to obey the authorities – PSP, and Vialitoral Via expresso – who are responsible security. "It is essential to respect the signs," he stressed.

Today’s news headlines from the front page of the Diário de Notícias :

Hotels obliged to fire staff.

Unemployment hits 28 Madeirans a day – Madeira had 13,510 unemployed in November, 53.4% more than a year ago. After the Algarve (+59.8%), Madeira had the worst problems, with the Azores very close behind (52.9%). With Summer jobs now over and the year end peak not looking promising, Madeira will have a slack tourism period for several weeks, save festivals and carnival week, so it looks like there is worse to come. Unemployment here has increased by 4.5%, or 587 people, just from October to November. In that same short month, job  offers fell by 46%.

Today’s main news headline : Crimes shelved - The Court (of Appeal?) decided that the lawsuit ‘Medicam’ was not strong enough for trial. At issue were four defendants accused of falsification of documents, criminal association and serious fraud.

Most of the front page today is taken up with a ungripping photo of a stopped (abandoned?) car in a street littered with flood debris … but no flood (maybe the Diário photographer arrived a bit late?) : Night of panic – Rivers spill over in São Vicente, Ribeira Brava, and Madelena do Mar. Sue kindly covered the weather stories above, so not much more to add. All was under control in Ribeira Brava town, but the flow in the river was the strongest I have ever seen. I can’t normally see the actual river from my balcony, but last night for a while I could, and the noise was incredible. The water clearly coming from somewhere with much more rain than we actually had in the town. The poor ducks (around 70 of them) were homeless with no high ground left to sleep on. They ended up clustered on a few rocks very close to the sea and the threat of high waves. Don’t forget if you have some leftovers / bread etc. you can spare, they really do need help to find food at the moment and probably for a good few weeks to come.

Rain and wind threaten the most popular night in downtown Funchal. The rain hasn’t helped businesses, and now with the stalls of flowers, fruit, vegetables erected around the fruit market (Mercado dos Lavradores) ready for Market Night tonight, traders are apprehensive about the night and trade being ruined by more bad weather. The roads are closed to traffic and full of traders trying to make the most of the last few days before Xmas. The sun umbrellas amongst the stands are serving to provide some protection from the repetitive rain, but there has been no protection against the financial damage they have all suffered as a result of the poor weather.

Bad weather cuts water supply in São Jorge.

As expected the Lobo Marinho ferry crossing to Porto Santo was cancelled today. The same story indicates that after Christmas day (when indications are that conditions will be improved), adverse conditions will return on 26th December.

Today’s sports headlines : Leonardo leads second division without exuberance.

If anyone else can oblige with the translation of any of the ‘blank’ or sparsely filled headlines, or other news stories, here is the link Thank you in anticipation.

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