A new disaster has hit the international news headlines this weekend namely the flash floods on the autonomous Portuguese island of Madeira. News coverage on three networks (BBC, CNN, France 24) over the weekend revealed stunning images of walls of water powering down flood drains and high streets alike. It also recorded a gradually increasing death toll: first 28, then 32 and now over 40 with numbers expected to rise as bodies are believed to have been washed out to sea and buried under mudslides. Two naval vessels have left port in Portugal to bring aid to the island.
It is easy to forget the enormous power of water but watching footage of cars getting washed away and bridges collapsing from the force of the torrent soon sets that straight and was reminiscent of scenes from the 2004 tsunami. Photographs on the BBC website give further evidence of the impact with cars piled up, buildings collapsed and streets blocked with debris left by the waters.
Now clearly this disaster pales into insignificance compared to the tragic destruction in Haiti and will doubtless rapidly fade from the headlines. For Seychelles however the Madeira disaster is very relevant as it offers many parallels to our circumstances. Madeira, like Seychelles, lies several hundred kilometres off the coast of Africa (and nearly a thousand kilometres from its nearest source of help Portugal) and tourism forms a major component of its economy. Flash floods and mudslides are also a key disaster risk in Seychelles and something we have seen quite a lot of in recent years though nothing thankfully, on the scale of that which has occurred in Madeira. Nevertheless, we stand to learn quite a lot from the disaster and subsequent response and recovery, that can be extrapolated to our own circumstances here and guide us in our contingency planning.
To that end, and international media permitting, we will follow the disaster and its aftermath as long as we can. Please do check back for updates.
really devastating
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