Madeira News Blog

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Becky … Lapas and Planalto at the Roca Mar, Caniço do Baixo

Many thanks to Paul for these articles on EU support and footpaths :

Commissioner’s visit to see damage and discuss scope for EU support

"Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for Regional Policy, will be in Madeira on 6 and 7 March to see at first-hand the devastation caused by the floods which hit the Portuguese island on 20 February. He will assess the damage and discuss scope for EU support with the President of Madeira’s regional government, Alberto João Jardim. This visit follows up a meeting the Commissioner held with the Portuguese Interior Minister, Mr Rui Pereira, in Bruges (Belgium) on 26 February.

Speaking ahead of his visit, Mr. Hahn said: “ We do not know the full scale of the tragedy yet, but we do know that a lot of people lost their lives and that many more are suffering. My thoughts go out to the victims and their families. The Commission will do its utmost to assist Madeira through the EU Solidarity Fund, as well as with its Structural and Cohesion Funds. Our aim is, to help restore normal living conditions as soon as possible, in particular ensuring access to running water, and bringing bridges, roads and businesses back into operation.”

Drawing on the European Union Solidarity Fund

The Portuguese authorities have 10 weeks (i.e. until 1 May) in which to submit an application to the Commission for assistance from the European Union Solidarity Fund. They are currently preparing such an application, with the help of the Commission. At this stage no estimate of possible payments can be made.

The Commission will decide as quickly as possible if the criteria of application for the Solidarity Fund are met, and if so, will propose an amount of aid that can be made available. In order for the funding to be released, the Commission will then have to ask the European Parliament and the EU-Member States to adopt an amending budget to be incorporated into the Community budget.

The EU aid may be used to finance the most urgent measures: providing temporary accommodation for the victims, repairing essential infrastructure and clearing land and devastated villages. Measures will be selected jointly by the Commission and the Portuguese authorities before the aid is released. Damage to private property will not be covered by the above arrangements.

Other resources available

The Madeira regional programme (allocated €320 million from the European Regional Development Fund – ERDF in 2007-2013) may also provide aid. In addition, Madeira also benefits from €143 million from the Cohesion Fund through the national programme called “ Territorial Enhancement ”. Specific measures can be taken inside these two programmes to respond to the catastrophe and for longer term reconstruction.

The Portuguese authorities have a certain margin of manoeuvre and have also the possibility to transfer funds from their other programmes. Under Cohesion Policy 2007-2013, the country has been allocated a total of €21.5 billion broken down into 14 programmes.

The European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) facts:

The European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF), which was set up in 2002, allocates emergency aid to Member States and applicant countries which have been struck by a major natural disaster. Its annual budget is €1 billion.

Since 2002, the Commission has received 69 applications for financial assistance from the Fund of which 33 led to the granting of financial support totalling more than €2.15 billion. Portugal was granted aid from the EUSF in the wake of the forest fires which occurred in the summer of 2003. On that occasion it received €48.5 million.

Madeira benefits from a reinforced support (additional funding) from Cohesion Policy as it is one of the EU’s seven “outermost regions” with a specific status recognised in the EU Treaty to take into account their specific geographic situation and their insularity."

Source: Lithuanian website

Madeira’s footpaths: report February 2010

The Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Natural Resources (SRA) reported last February on the state of Madeira’s footpaths. The Report posted on the official Tourism website which is detailed includes list of footpaths in good condition and footpaths temporarily closed and maps.

Footpaths in good condition

· PR1 Vereda do Areeiro (Pico do Areeiro – Achada do Teixeira)

· PR 1.1 Vereda da Ilha (Achada do Teixeira – Ilha)

· PR 1.2 Vereda do Pico Areeiro (Achada do Teixeira – Pico Ruivo)

· PR 1.3 Vereda da Encumeada (Pico de Areeiro – Encumeada)

· PR5 Vereda das Funduras (Portela – Maroços)

· PR 6 Levada das 25 Fontes (Rabaçal – Risco)

· PR 8 Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço

· PR 11 Levada dos Balcões (Ribeiro Frio – Balcões)

· PR 13 Vereda do Fanal (Assobiadores – Fanal)

· PR 14 Levada dos Cedros (Fanal – Curral Falso)

· PR 15 Vereda da Ribeira da Janela (Curral Falso – Ribeira da Janela)

· PR19 Vereda do Paul do Mar

· Path between Queimadas and Pico das Pedras

Footpaths temporarily closed

· PR 7 Levada do Moinho (Ribeira da Cruz – Lamaceiros)

· PR 9 Levada do Caldeirão Verde (Queimadas – Caldeirão Verde)

· PR10 Levada do Furado (Ribeiro Frio – Lamaceiros – Portela)

· PR 12 Caminho Real da Encumeada (Boca da Corrida – Encumeada)

· PR 16 Levada da Fajã do Rodrigues (Fajã da Amã – Ribeira do Inferno)

· PR 17 Caminho do Pináculo and Folhadal (Lombo do Mouro – Caramujo – Folhadal – Encumeada)

· PR 18 Levada do Rei (Quebradas – Ribeiro Bonito)

To see the entire Report and maps click HERE

To see a map of the current status of the Madeira Levada Walks click HERE

Many thanks to Elaine out West for this article from yesterday’s Diário de Notícias :

Rehousing is a problem in Serra d’Agua IHM wants to keep families in the same neighbourhood, but few homes are available. The resettlement of households in Serra d’Agua affected by the storm remains the main concern of the Madeiran Housing Investment (IHM), due to housing shortages in the parish of Ribeira Brava. Paulo Atouguia, president of IHM, will this morning, together with the president of the local authority, to try to raise awareness of owners of empty houses in Serra d’Agua to lease them to the 139 people who had to leave their homes. "Our goal is to get people relocated near the place where they lived," he told the DIÁRIO. But the main priority is to rehabilitate them; if no solutions are found in the parish, the IHM will look for houses in the centre of Ribeira Brava, or even in another county. This at a time when about 28 households, mostly in Funchal, have been placed temporarily in new housing. Right now, says Paulo Atouguia, the HMI is on the ground to assess not only the proposals for lease which the authorities have received – to assess conditions on offer – but also to conduct a survey of the damage to the homes of displaced persons, a task that is also being carried out by the Regional Laboratory of Civil Engineering and the respective municipalities.

Here a link on Madeira light houses … Pete. HERE Thanks Pete, one of my favourite subjects, though disappointed that there is no photo of the Ribeira Brava lighthouse.

Many thanks to Elaine once again for yesterday’s top news stories :

DIÁRIO DE NOTÍCIAS 05/03/2010

MADEIRA

Fajã da Ribeira out of isolation. The military bridge connecting this area to Ribeira Brava was finished yesterday and can now be used by motorists. For the assembly, materials had to be transported from Portugal in three trips using military aircraft (C130), transported to the area, a large crane stabilized on site and the bridge mounted by nine soldiers supervised by senior army officers. The bridge can support up to 22 tons and measures 18 metres long and 4.10 metres wide. There are no plans at present for any other military bridges.

Only a third of homes have insurance. Data from the Portuguese Association of Insurers which represents 70 insurance companies operating in the domestic market. On the Continent, the number of houses insured is 50% and traditionally in Europe, house insurance covers 70 – 90% of homes. Insurers originally estimated that compensation after the 20th February storm would reach 60 million Euros but this figure has been revised upwards to 80 million Euros. 54 million Euros covers 616 claims from commerce and industry, with only 454 claims for habitation (4 million Euros). There has been only one claim on life insurance, 11 for injury at work or personal indemnity and 79 for damage to vehicles.

POLITICS

No time to receive the MEPs. The Vice-president of the Regional Government, João Cunha e Silva, claimed a lack of space in the agenda to receive the socialist MEPs who visited the region from Wednesday until yesterday. Alberto Jardim had also refused to meet the four, claiming he had not been contacted through the official channels. He also thought it was in "bad taste" to include the socialist MEP Edite Estrela, whose legal case against him has been ruled in his favour by the Court of Appeal. The Mayor of Funchal was also unavailable so they met with the Vice-president of Funchal, Paulo Fontes. The Spanish MEP said, "If someone did not want to meet the delegation, that decision was their responsibility and strengthened the commitment of the European Socialist group in relation to the autonomous regions, such as Madeira, in supporting the transfer of aid to respond to the effects of the disaster."

Azores / Madeira alliance in the National Assembly. Members from the Azores and Madeira in the National Assembly joined together to try to force the State to re-pay 5% of the income tax revenue to the local councils of the Autonomous Regions. The proposal to alter the State Budget came from the PSD-M but the MPs from the Azores, from other parties, also agreed to it. The proposal is also supported by national PSD and CDS-PP members. Madeiran councils claim that IRS arrears are worth 8 million Euros, and Funchal Council is owed 5 million Euros. Last year, the Ministry of Finance ruled that since the IRS revenue goes to the Regional Governments, they should pay the 5% to the local councils. But the Regions counter-argued that this financial relationship belongs to the Executive in Lisbon. Recently, the municipalities asked the national Parliament to resolve this issue and the Mayor of Funchal has begun court action against the Ministry of Finance.

JORNAL DA MADEIRA

FRONT PAGE NEWS

IGA invests 11 million Euros in water recovery. The President of Investment and Management of Water (IGA) pledged yesterday to invest 11 million Euros for the reconstruction of the damaged water supply network. It will cost 4 million Euros to repair the damaged drinking water supply network and it will take at least two and a half months. Water should still be boiled in affected areas and the drinking water supply is still unavailable in Jangão in the municipality of Ponta do Sol, in Zimbreiros in Apresentação and in Serra d’Água in the county of  Ribeira Brava. The worst area is Serra d’Água where the complete network has been destroyed. The remaining 7 million Euros is for damage to the supply of water for irrigation and this should be resolved within a month. The problem areas for these damaged channels are Ribeira Brava, Funchal and Ponta do Sol.

REGION

New access for Meia Légua and the north of the island. The Regional Government has given Estradas da Madeira the contract to build a new access road to Meia Légua. This will be a more permanent safer road to this parish in Serra de Água, and a link to the north of the island through the Encumeada tunnel. The new route will be 2.6 km long and include a 2,100 m tunnel with three emergency exits. There will be two bridges and a roundabout linking the expressway in Serra de Água. The cost is estimated at 41.5 million Euros and the project was planned previously but never implemented due to a lack of funds.

LAST PAGE

GNR will have another dog for search and rescue. The team in Madeira will have another dog as another one is necessary to cover the region. The commander of the Territorial branch of the GNR said that first they have to find the right dog and then a handler who needs total commitment to the job. The team in Madeira has only one dog for detecting human odour and this dog is presently in convalescence. There are four dogs trained to detect drugs. Diário has a long article about the two dogs that came over from Portugal to search after the February 20th storm. They are Timmy, a 5 year old border collie who has returned to Portugal while Sacha, a six year old golden retriever, remains on the island. Each handler works exclusively with his dog. When the dog detects a victim, it signals this by barking. If the dog is unsure, it smells and scrapes. They are trained to work in various scenarios/types of terrain and weather conditions. The dogs are trained from an early age by being rewarded for detecting human odour and they treat it like a game.

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

Tragedy harms tourism to the tune of €1.6 million – In just 15 days, the tourism sector suffered a sharp fall, between visitor losses from cruise ships and planes.

Satellite locates origins of collapses – A cabinet is being created that will study mountainsides and modern solutions to secure unstable slopes. IMAGE HERE. The assessments of the landslides and rock falls in the lands of Funchal has been done. Satellite images have pinpointed the precise problem areas, and now Funchal Council is looking for solutions to secure against further collapses. Engineer and councillor, Amílcar Gonçalves, has been chosen to lead the cabinet that will study the biggest problem in Funchal, the risk of rock falls and landslides. The scale of the problem was highlighted on 20th February, when after extreme rainfall over a long period, 173 collapses occurred in the high and medium zones of Funchal, mostly along a strip between Santo António and Monte. The task ahead to find the solutions that will secure the problem area at an economic cost will not be an easy one.

Today’s main news headline : "The Social Democrats Party of Madeira at this moment needs to change". Miguel Albuquerque highlighted matters and ignored the messages of [president] Jardim about taking a lead in the storms. Now, he has received  Edite Estrela, to the contrary of the Regional Government. In an interview about the aftermath, the pretender [to the throne of Jardim as president of Madeira and the PSD-M] affirms his readiness  for the succession. But he says that he would not continue in [Funchal] Council even if the law actually permits that, because he has a profession and doesn’t depend on "pans and perches". He supports the remodelling of the PSD-M, but without wanting to refer that to Jardim, because "that’s his problem". ‘Pans and perches’ is some colloquial expression that I couldn’t work out, but I think refers in part to ‘cushy jobs’. I am not surprised that the Diário made this today’s lead story, as Madeira’s top man outside of the Regional Assembly seems to be breaking ranks. It has been a suppressed as much as possible, within the PSD-M, but it has been no secret for some time that the President of Funchal Câmara has had his eye on the top job of Jardim. Now that Jardim has indicated that he might remain in post after his alleged planned retirements in 2011, perhaps that has prompted Albuquerque to speak out now, perhaps (excuse my french), a sort of ‘S*** or bust’ tactic. I am looking forward to reading this in full in the printed edition of the Diário tonight.´

[José] Sócrates is coming the Flower Festival in April – The prime minister said to the Diário that he is coming to see the rebuilding. Yesterday he left Maputo [Mozambique], which is calling for Madeiran businessmen.

Delays in 270 scholarship distresses in the University.

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. All contributions much appreciated. 

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