The building to the right and in the lower foreground is the retirement home struck by the floods in February

THE £100,000 raised by Islanders for the Jersey Side by Side Appeal for Madeira is to be used to help elderly people in one of the areas worst hit by February’s floods.

For weeks after the floods devastated the Portuguese island, killing 42 people and leaving more than 600 homeless, money poured into the fund – the proceeds of everything from cake sales to dress down days and personal donations.

The charity set up a committee to decide where the money would be used and now a project has been identified to build an extension to a retirement home in Ribeira Brava.

Located to the west of the Island’s capital, Funchal, Ribeira Brava was one of the areas worst hit by the floods and many people there lost their homes, including many elderly people living in the hills above the village.

The Side by Side project will help to provide accommodation for 14 of those elderly people whose homes were completely washed away by the floods. The funds from Jersey will be added to those raised by local people in Riberia Brava and money from the Madeiran government. The home will be funded in the long term by Madeira’s social security department.