Madeira: Fears of further landslides

Tuesday 23rd February 2010, 2:58PM GMT.

A rescue worker walks past cars buried under rocks in a street of downtown Funchal. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

SCORES more people have been evacuated from their homes in Madeira amid fears of fresh landslides after storms devastated the island over the weekend.

People in two towns west of Funchal – Ribeira Brava, the home of regular Jersey visitor Fr Bernardino Trindade, and Ponta do Sol – have been told to leave their homes after hillsides and banks threatened to collapse.

Meanwhile, the search continues for victims of Saturday’s deadly floods, which killed 42 people, with the lower parts of Funchal among the worst affected. A British woman has been confirmed among the dead.

The clean-up operation is also being hampered by more bad weather and in some areas the government has said it will wait until the weather clears up to carry on.

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