Idyllic holiday paradise devastated by mudslides
THE beautiful 'garden' island of Madeira usually has one of the most constant and reliable climates, hence its popularity with holidaymakers all year round.
However, few of us could have failed to be moved by the dramatic scenes shown on television and the internet of mudslides and brown flood water thundering through the centre of the capital Funchal following the recent extreme storms, causing severe damage to many of the shops and properties and claiming the lives of more than 30 people.
For one Sleaford couple these images were all too close for comfort.
Lloyd and Joy Harmston had returned to Madeira for their fifth holiday on the idyllic island but had never experienced weather like this before.
Thankfully they were staying in accommodation a little way out from the old centre of Funchal, worst hit by the floods, and, although they had been aware of how extreme the weather was on the Friday night of the storm they had not realised the extent of the problem until they wandered into the town centre the following morning.
Lloyd said: "We woke up to find deep puddles on our balcony but had no idea of the flooding.
"It was only when we went into town that we saw just how awful it was."
On their way in they passed a shop filled with dirty flood water and the owner stood at the door.
Joy went up to talk to the man and give him some words of comfort and recalled: "He just looked so lost and didn't know what to do. He had probably been building up his business for years and now it was all ruined.
"It was heart-rending to see."
Lloyd added: "It was horrendous, almost unreal.
"On the Friday night the wind had been hammering on the shutters of our apartment but we still did not expect to find the devastation that we saw the next day. Fortunately we were well away from the worst of it, with the old town worst affected.
"You can easily think that this kind of thing spoils your holiday but we felt that our misfortune was nothing compared to what the people of the island had to suffer. They lost so much. It will take years for them to fully recover from it all. You really have to feel for them."
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Weather for Sleaford
Sunday 05 February 2012
Today
Mist
Temperature: -2 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: -1 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North west
