Madeira News Blog

Today’s photo – from Der … Another of the Ribeira Brava, and this was some hours after the flood subsided. I have had other photos sent in, many thanks, but with so many emails to get through, it will take me a while to get settled again. Especially if my internet connection continues to have problems.

Thanks folks for the enquiries about my welfare, I am fine. No internet or phone connections put me out of action, with just a half hour access on Sunday, but I am safe and dry. I am just seeing this afternoon for the first time TV coverage of the catastrophe, so while I have seen so much locally, I guess I am the least well informed visually as far as Madeira as a whole goes.

I have nearly 600 emails to get through, I will have to delete most of it unread, so sorry about that if you have contacted me, but I can’t see any other option. I will post something more as soon as I can, sometime tomorrow hopefully, but please continue to use the blog comments to communicate and leave news for now. Many thanks to those who have provided such information over the last few days.

The only news I have had the last 4+ days has come from the radio and locals, and I have a head crammed with information, far too much to post here, and most of it now out of date. Here are a few of the more important points :

This is from news through to this morning, some of it is for sure a bit old now. Check before you act on anything please.

1. Charities / helping : CARITAS started a new relief charity helpline. Contact details and bank account are :

Bank – Banif – Account – 1626371377
IBAN – 003800011626371377113

Telephone: +351 291743331
E-mail: caritasfunchal@netmadeira.com
Website: http://www.caritas.pt/funchal/

2. 42 were confirmed dead, but that was reduced again to 39 in a report today after an actual body count, but there is talk of another body found in Funchal today. There were over 70 hospitalised yesterday, and around 600 people made homeless, and talk of a new neighbourhood being built to rehome them. There are still people categorised as "missing", or unaccounted for, but the lack of communications prevents any firm confirmation of the situation although the original estimates have been reducing dramatically and today’s Diário says it is now just 18.

3. Only Vodafone and Optimus mobile networks were working. TMN started coming back Sunday night, but not for everyone in one go. Landlines were / are also down. CaboTV / Zon has also been out of service, but is coming back gradually. There may be more disruptions in communications.

4. People are repeatedly being asked not to go into the affected areas ‘sightseeing’ … they are hindering clean up operations and endangering themselves and others. Also we are asked not to park cars in areas which need to be cleaned up.

5. Most schools have now reopened outside of Funchal and Ribeira Brava, some others with no water also remain closed.

6. Funchal has a few limited bus services up and running. Details may be on the Horários website. Just a few buses from Rodoeste are running, and they seem to be all on the Funchal route.

7. Several thousand families had / have no electricity, and around 30,000 have no water (no recent update on numbers unfortunately). The assessment of the water situation was still being undertaken, but the original opinion of the man responsible for water was that we are looking at a few days to return to normal supplies. Some water provided after reconnection may not be drinkable initially.

8. A survey is being carried out in Funchal harbour etc. to evaluate the amount of material deposited in the sea, carried by the flood water, to ensure that the water is still deep enough for shipping.

Sunday’s Diário de Notícias front page looked like this. You don’t need me to translate.

Monday’s front page :  "Recovery and fear"

Tuesday’s front page : "Rumours concern".

I suppose it is inevitable that the nervousness of a population will start rumours, even dangerous rumours. In Ribeira Brava town on Monday, there was a bit of normality returning at around 11 am, with plenty of people milling around and the clean up operation in full swing. Half an hour later the town was pretty much emptied, and just about all the shops and bars had closed again, and the exit road on the Campanário road was blocked with a mass of traffic and people trying to evacuate. The rumour was that a mountainside was about to collapse at the back of town. People were panicking, some were crying, and nearly everyone was phoning a relative and spreading the rumour. I had the radio on at the time and the president of Ribeira Brava was clear in the message that that was no danger in the town, and that people should stay at home, but people were unaware or continued to evacuate anyway.

There was also, according to the radio, a rumour about evacuating Funchal. Again rubbish. There should be information on the official tourism website in various languages, and there is also a Twitter page updated with government communications (it was read out too quickly on the radio for me to write down, but if someone can find it and it has English translations, please post it in the comments).

Today’s front page : "2 years to rebuild".

Without TV or internet access I really had no real idea, in a visual sense, what was going on elsewhere on the island. Sunday night I managed to borrow a Diário de Notícias, and a Jornal da Madeira, and I was horrified at some of the pictures I saw of the floods in full flow and the damage caused in Funchal. Of course that was pretty much it at that stage … Funchal. I have heard stories about other parts of the South coast of Madeira, and they sound equally horrific, but the communication breakdown  is preventing a full picture, and what I have been hearing may be vastly distorted by the rumour mill.

The President of the Republic, Cavaco Silva, is visiting Madeira this afternoon.

UPDATE :

Depression may bring heavy rain on Friday – One should keep a look out for the weather forecast over the next few hours. "More intense rainfall will occur in the sea northwest of Madeira," said meteorologist Paula Leitão. Strong winds and precipitation are likely as the depression passes, but nothing like that experienced on Saturday.

More later maybe … especially if someone would be kind enough to contribute something … FOR NOW PLEASE PUT ANY IMPORTANT NEWS IN THE BLOG COMMENTS, AND IF AND WHEN I GET INTERNET ACCESS I WILL MOVE IT. PLEASE DON’T EMAIL ME ANYTHING IMPORTANT FOR NOW IN CASE I DON’T HAVE INTERNET ACCESS.

—————————————————————————————————————————————–
If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or good or bad experience, a news item, or a story from a Madeira newspaper, a photo or video, a teaser, news of a bargain flight or item in a supermarket. Please help keep this blog going … without user contributions it won’t survive. Please don’t send in automatic translations (like Google translator) without checking them through and correcting them first, thanks.

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions and photos / videos.

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

Please use the comments here for general chit-chat, or feel free to ask any questions … someone usually has an answer.

(more…)

Today’s Photo : Thanks to Eiryl … Azulejos tiles at the entrance to old house in Santa Maria Maior, Funchal

Thanks again to Elaine of course for yesterday’s top stories :

Ilhas Afortunadas, ‘Fortunate Islands’ at New Year. The contract for the end of year fireworks display has been awarded to Macedo’s Pirotecnia. The theme this year will be the ‘Fortunate Islands’. The eight minute display will be divided into 21 separate ‘pictures’, each directly inspired from an element of fauna and flora of Madeira, e.g., agapanthus, banana, firecrest, dolphin, sea urchins etc. The aim is to draw attention to the Laurissilva and the importance of preserving the heritage of biological diversity in the region – International Year of Biodiversity is 2010. Estimated cost is just over 1 million Euros. It was in 2007 when Macedo’s helped to get Madeira in the Guinness Book of Records for the largest firework display in the world. The Secretariat of Tourism will present the Christmas and New Year program to the media on November 24. The first phase of the illuminations starts on November 27 and the second on December 4. —– €1 million spent in just over 8 minutes!

Diário wins two European Newspaper Awards. Awarded a prize in the category ‘Front Page’ for the cover of the July 15 2009 edition and ‘Sector in Front Page’ award for two pieces on pages 2 and 3 in the 21 March 2009 issue and the December 8 2008 issue. The Portuguese ‘I’ won the award in the category of ‘Best Newspaper Designed in Europe’ and the ‘Expresso’ achieved various distinctions.

Negligence causes gas explosion. An explosion by a gas cylinder yesterday morning in the Piornais Levada in Funchal caused a huge scare but no casualties or damage. The accident occurred when a woman was changing an empty bottle and the connection was not secure but fortunately it was the empty cylinder that exploded and the flame did not reach the full one.

Illegal parking. Complaint of continual illegal parking near the entrance/exit to the highway at Ribeira Brava, despite road signs.

Infamous development in Porto Novo. A controversial development built on top of a steep cliff. This area contains 48 apartments spread over three blocks and was built by the company JSP Franca. It was subject to court action in 2000 and since then, the complex for public housing has been vandalized while the case has been going through court. The problem is that the land is part of the public maritime domain belonging to the Government and therefore the private properties along the coastline are illegal. The other interpretation of the law, favoured by the Government, is that the land has been recognized by them as private for more than 100 years and therefore detached from the public domain and the development is legal.

Technical problem at the port costs €3 million. The embarking / disembarking equipment bought for the new port is designed to operate in ports where the tidal range is less than 2 metres, which is not always the case in Madeira. The technical solution costs an additional 3 million Euros. The ports authority invested a total of 8 million with a loan and there are questions raised as who will pay the 600/800 thousand Euros per year to finance and operate the service. The shipping agents are concerned that the passenger rates may increase 50%. The doubts about paying the loan are that only 2.5% of port passengers need to use the formal boarding arrangements for checking luggage and other procedures, which will be those starting or ending a cruise in Funchal. Those using Naviera Armas or the Porto Santo Line will not require it. The International Passenger Terminal will not be opened until March next year, instead of this December, due to structural changes in the building.

Tunas festival dates. Tuna Universitaria da Madeira (TUMa) will keep alive the Regional Meeting of Tunas, from 3 December to June 5 this time. The XV Meeting program dates in Funchal are: Thursday December 3 – reception at the Town Hall followed by a tour of the city centre. Saturday December 5, 21.00 – Praça do Municipo.

Madeira Wine awarded silver medal.  Justino’s Madeira Malvasia 10 Years Old was awarded the Silver Medal in the competition Fortified Wine Challenge sponsored by the magazine ‘Drinks International’. This was in the category Madeira, Marsala and Other Styles. This wine has achieved Gold Medals in the International Wine Challenge (2001), the VII Wine Masters Challenge (2006), and The World of Malvasia (2009).

100 hospitalized children will go whale and dolphin watching. The Foundation of Gil has made an agreement with the company Rota dos Cetaceos (Whale Route) to allow children hospitalized for long periods to go on whale and dolphin watching trips.

Porto Moniz Council worker accused foreman of assault. While cutting the roadside vegetation, some workers came across a wasp nest. One man hesitated as he had previously been stung, causing his leg to swell. The foreman said this would not happen again and then the worker inadvertently touched the nest with his podoa (curved sickle for pruning trees). Provoked, the wasps swarmed and attacked the workers. The foreman grabbed the worker by the shoulders and pushed him onto the road and then down a 1.5 metre bank. When pushed over, the worker fell on top of his podoa and had small cuts near his eye and he also cut his right arm. The doctor at the Health Centre provided written evidence for the police and the foreman denies the assault. —- Anyone else fallen on their padoa?

Residents fear using a road in Lazareto. The instability of the slope has caused small landslides onto the road when it rains. These have caused problems to motorists and pedestrians. Small stones can also come loose at any time and are of concern to residents waiting at the bus stop. The council know about the problem and wanted to enlarge the road but this was too expensive.

Retired police commissioner might be subject to disciplinary action. Continuation of the saga about the pre-election violence. On the 2 October during the opening of the expressway to the port, clashes between the populares and the PND required the presence of the BIR. Jardim disputes the inaction of the PSP and accuses the Regional Commissioner of being under "the control of Lisbon" and not adequately protecting the opening. On the 14 October, the Diário learnt that a police officer requested a transfer out of the Region because he believes there are no conditions for performing police functions in the Region where the Government offends the honour, dignity and impartiality of men and women who are in the service of the Regional Command of the PSP. There are now two more similar requests for transfers. The retired commissioner Manuel Felix is said to be in "clear conscience". He has not yet been asked to give evidence to the PSP or Public Ministry. Although he is retired, he might face disciplinary action for neglect of duties. The penalty could be a fine or loss of pension rights.

Front page headlines from today’s Diário de Notícias :

A nice easy job for me today, with just one important story in the eyes of the Diário, which has devoted almost the complete front page to the matter :

África Nossa (our Africa) – Portugal beat Bosnia and qualified for the World Cup Finals 2010. The draw takes place on 4th December. Portugal won 0 – 1 on Bosnia’s home soil, with a very fine goal early in the second half by Raul Meireles. Tricky game, but Portugal reverted to their more natural attacking game and it paid off. I thought the match was going to be called off after some trouble with the crowd in the second half with objects being thrown at players and officials, with a linesman getting hit, but it just prolonged the game another 5 minutes. What a relief, and a what a tonic for the Portuguese sanity.

Slovenia and Algeria, the teams of Nacional’s players  Pecnik and Halliche, are among the 32 teams that qualified.

There were a couple more headlines just about squeezed in at the bottom of the page :

Court Annuls Judgement – High Court sets aside the decision of the Court of Funchal that sentenced a mother to 16 years in prison for the death of her daughter. The court ‘Tribunal da Relação de Lisboa’ annulled the judgement of the court ‘Vara Mista’ in Funchal, that had sentenced a young mother to 16 years in prison for the death of her 2 year old daughter in November 2007, for qualified homicide. The allegation was that she poisoned her whilst she was institutionalised, using biscuits and fruit juice, a fact proved by the autopsy.

Government unties knot in Campanário. The photograph shows that rather awkward junction of the via rápida in Campanário. The government is to put the problems right to ease traffic flow and to improve safety in the problem area. Work to correct the problem area should start early next year, and is being progressed with some haste, even though it has been like that since construction 12 years ago.

‘Case of the suitcase’ has connections to Madeira. This is about a suspended MP in the Assembly of the Republic, António Preto, accused of fiscal fraud. It seems he is involved in the real estate company in Funchal ‘Serbro-Construções Imobiliárias, S.A.’. Did I mention that Senior Preto is a member of the Social Democratic Party? No, well he is, so I can only deduce that such behaviour must run in that orange blood.

44 sympathetic institutions display art. Feel free to send me in a translation for this story.

—————————————————————————————————————————————–
If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or good or bad experience, a news item, or a story from a Madeira newspaper, a photo or video, a teaser, news of a bargain flight or item in a supermarket. Please help keep this blog going … without user contributions it won’t survive. 

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions and photos / videos.

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

Please use the comments here for general chit-chat, or feel free to ask any questions … someone usually has an answer.

(more…)

(18th August). Today’s main news headline : ‘Hospitalised Baby Appears With Broken Arm And Hematomas – The baby was in hospital since the day of birth, three months ago. Friday she appeared with a broken arm and several heavy bruises on the head. The clinical director says that the case is running in judicial secrecy. Visits are prohibited’. The family are prevented from visiting the baby girl, and have not been given any explanations. The baby was kept in hospital for detoxification of methadone, as the mother is a drug addict in treatment, and also because she is under the supervision of the Commission for the Protection of Children and the courts. The mother was visiting her baby on Friday when she saw the arm in plaster and the bruises, but nobody had informed her of what had happened or was able to offer any explanations at the time or since. The baby has now been moved to an area where visitors are not permitted. A health spokesman contacted by the Diário was not able to give any more detail, as the case is undergoing an enquiry.

‘Neighbourhood Obliges Officers To Seek Medical Support – Affronts, threats and insults to the Public Security Police in Nogueira puts the officers under heavy pressure, insists the trade union ASPP’. Following on from yesterday’s story about an unpleasant incident in the neighbourhood of Nogueira on Saturday, some of the officers with duties in that area are receiving medical support. In particular those who have the duty of working in the police post in the area, and have to work there alone. The union ASPP (Association of Police Professionals) says that the regional command of the police has the resources and means to calm the area is it wishes. According to Jorge Silva, everything depends on the decision of the commander. For now, the truth is that the "police presence that are in service in Nogueira are under great pressure, and some are receiving medical assistance." Despite the preparation and training, "the police are people of flesh and blood, they also feel", he says. He does not talk of a neighbourhood out of control, but stressed that the climate in Nogueira is complicated, and the worsening of the situation. Jorge Silva does not make any predictions for the future, but reminds that the "little corner of heaven no longer exists in Portugal." Madeira is no exception, nobody can predict anything in a time where there is increasingly less respect for authority. Nogueira has social problems that can not be resolved with one police officer at the police post, and two other in a patrol car. That view coincides with that of Paulo Atouguia, chairman of Housing Investment Madeira (IHM), who said "The Neighbourhood of Nogueira has serious problems of drug addiction, unemployment and crime, that is true. Besides this, a significant part of the population is in adolescence, at an age of risk". He also emphasises that in Nogueira, there are many normal families who live normally, are working, and ensure that the house supplied by the government is looked after. He also points out that Nogueira has its own problems coming from the fact that the population has been relocated (from Câmara de Lobos I believe). "These people are uprooted, coming from far away, they have no connection with the place and that does not facilitate integration". The District of Nogueira was inaugurated in 1994 and now, 1,398 people live in all the 387 ‘side by side’ houses. The houses, with gardens, are nice and well constructed, but for years that area has been associated with trafficking and drug use. There are 312 unemployed people there, mostly men, and 79 people receiving social benefit payments. I have included a typical photo from Nogueira today, as it might surprise some people who expect something quite different. In appearance it is nothing like the trouble hotspots of Funchal.

‘Imaculado Complains Of Lack Of Festival – There are few other problems mentioned by the population’. This is another featured location in the Diário series ‘Through Madeira’, this time in Imaculado Coração de Maria, in Funchal, and the conclusion is that Imaculado "is not one of the worse parishes". Problems with lack of safety are passing with time, but the population still regret the abolition of the parish festival 15 years ago, that used to take place on the last Sunday in August. Nobody knows why it was stopped, but one resident suggests that the padre at the time found the event disrespectful for the church, as there people causing disturbances. Two attempts to resurrect the occasion have failed, and now the event ‘Immaculate Heart of Mary’ is just celebrated within the church. Social / crime problems have improved over the last 5 years, and one can now feel quite secure there, although there are still a few problems, some connected with drugs. The local church causes some criticisms, with locals saying it is a bit of a mess, and needs work doing. The location has a health centre and a football pitch, and public transport is pretty good. Things are even better in one part of the parish. "A corner of heaven" is how the residents feel about the district of Penha de França, describing it as the place to live, without confusion, contempt, problems with neighbours or in connection with violence or drugs. "I love living here, it is quiet, clean, and no one interferes with anyone" says Fernanda Andrade, resident in the neighbourhood for over 30 years. But that area is made up of pre-fabricated houses, which others feel should not exist, and feel that Funchal Council failed to deliver on a promise made 30 years ago to deal with the situation. The council has also neglected the green open spaces, which now pose a fire hazard as well as a home for mice.

The front page football story : ‘Danny Already Informed Zenit About Nacional’. Adopted as an Madeiran, Danny, who plays for Zenit St. Petersburgh, and arrives here this afternoon, has spilt the beans. Asked if he has told his Russian club about Nacional, their opponents on Thursday, he says "Of course. I told them everything. It’s my team". The game on Thursday is the first leg of the tie in the UEFA Europa League qualifying stage. Danny will not play in the game.

‘Capacity Exhausted In The Forum Madeira – Animation and fantasy sum up the second week of open air cinema’. The first day of the initiative last week saw 1,500 people turn up in the central square of the forum to see the film Slum Dog Millionaire. Today one can see Madagascar 2, on Thursday, the Strange Case of Benjamin Button, and on Sunday, Angels and Demons.

‘Illegal Firearms Seized In Calheta – Police arrest an individual’. One arrest and three illegal firearms seized as police from Câmara de Lobos went to Calheta for an ‘intervention’. One of the weapons was actually a compressed air gun. Câmara de Lobos police going to Calheta … we don’t hear about boundary crossovers like this very often.

‘SJ again criticizes dismissals – The Union of Journalists (SJ) returned yesterday to protest against the process of collective redundancies ongoing in the Diário de Notícias’. The union believes that the action is not justifed in sacking 10 journalists and 3 other workers, and has called for the public opinion of Madeira and the support of others in the public eye to protest to the newspaper. The union argues that not only is the action injust, but it will also affect the income of a number of people and their families, who have very few opportunities for equivalent jobs on Madeira, as well as affecting the future quality of the newspaper.

’25 Cases Of Gripe A On Madeira – The ages range between 20 and 54. They are all clinically well’. Whilst nationally the numbers of confirmed cases have soared above 1,400, Madeira had just 4 new cases in the last week, none required to stay in hospital, bringing the running total to 25. 

‘Funchal Marks 501 Years Friday’. I have already covered it and given the link to the programme of events, but it’s worth noting that on Thursday night there is a concert in the Municipal Gardens at 9 pm, when the Bandolins da Madeira and tenor Carlos Guilherme perform.