Rain Causes Havoc ; Porto Santo Sterilised ; Government Assists Unemployed With Mortgages
(22nd May). ‘Rain Affects Sewers – Funchal again feels the effects of the bad weather. Rain water and sewerage mixed causing an unbearable smell. In the west, the high zones of Ribeira Brava were the worst affected’. Many residents had already been warned that there was a danger of the rain bringing conditions last seen in 2005, when floods caused havoc. In Boa Morte, high above Ribeira Brava, the unceasing rain that fell yesterday morning pushed large quantities of earth and stones into the business park and onto the road that runs nearby, and some was washed downwards, entering some homes. In the worst case, one resident in the area had an influx of mud and stones into his basement, kitchen, living room and other parts of the property, as had happened before in 2005.
The airport was also affected with the bad weather, with one flight cancelled, and eight diverted to Porto Santo and The canary Islands, as well as various problems with departures. The real problems started at around 8.30am, and lasted for around 3 hours. the Easyjet flight to Lisbon was cancelled, and a Porto Santo plane had to return there, unable to land.
I saw the rain was heavy where I am, but I had no idea it was so bad elsewhere, with loads of news stories today about the damage caused and the problems for those trying to have a normal day at home or work, and even a rescue at sea. The south coast turned brown with mud washed into the sea according to one story, and here is the proof :
The Avenida Arriaga (north track) in Funchal will be closed during the holidays in June, which will allow work to be done to stop future problems with sewerage pipes when there is heavy rain. That should stop the rather unpleasant smell that occurs at these times, although it seems that this is project is not a permanent solution.
(22nd May). The Council of Government yesterday approved a new scheme to support lending for housing for the unemployed, one of the promised measures to combat the crisis and rising unemployment. The proposed legislative decree for Madeira will be delivered to the Legislative Assembly of Madeira for discussion and approval, complementing another measure to support property rental for the unemployed, in force since April 15th. An explanatory note from the government explains that this is a measure of "exceptional support of a transitional nature" introduced to support "Madeira families affected by the consequences of the current international and national economic crisis, as has been done for those who live in rented accommodation". The rules are clear, it is only available to those who worked for companies and lost their job involuntarily, and who then sign-on at the Employment Office of Madeira and are eligible to receive unemployment benefits. If one person from a couple is unemployed and the other working, €175 a month in assistance will be paid. If both of the couple are unemployed and meet the criteria, then €350 a month will be paid. It is predicted that the new measure will cover around 1,000 families in the first year, and will cost the taxpayer €2 million.
(22nd May). The 6th animal sterilisation campaign on Porto Santo Island resulted in 191 animals being ‘done’. VetFunchal, in collaboration with a German organisation, ran the free-of-charge campaign for 5 days, with 88 bitches and 103 cats getting ‘snipped’. They were also micro chipped, photographed, and recorded on a computer database. Since 1999, the year marking the beginning of these campaigns, 724 sterilizations were performed free of charge on Porto Santo, of which 351 involved bitches, and the remaining 373 were cats.
