Madeira's Civil Protection service logged 235 weather-related incidents across the Region by 11:00 on Wednesday. The count covers the period since 20:00 the night before, as Storm Charles moved through the archipelago. It follows Storm Bruna, which struck the island earlier in the same spell of bad weather.
The figures come from the Preventech platform, cited in the civil protection service's report to the press. Responding crews mobilized 603 personnel and 244 vehicles in total. Those numbers count each deployment per incident, not unique staff or vehicles, so the same team can be counted more than once across different calls.
Mass Movements and Flooding Each Hit 64 Times
Landslides and other mass movements were the most frequent type of incident, with 64 occurrences. Flooding of structures or surfaces matched that figure exactly, also at 64 occurrences. Fallen trees followed, with 36 registered incidents.
Civil Protection also recorded eight collapses of built structures, five falls of construction elements and five blocked drains or pipes. Damage to or falls of utility networks accounted for seven cases, and three incidents involved temporary or mobile structures falling over.
| Type of incident | Count |
|---|---|
| Mass movements (landslides) | 64 |
| Flooding of structures or surfaces | 64 |
| Fallen trees | 36 |
| Collapsed built structures | 8 |
| Damage to or falls of utility networks | 7 |
| Fallen construction elements | 5 |
| Blocked drains or pipes | 5 |
| Fallen temporary or mobile structures | 3 |
Funchal Logged 54 Incidents, the Most of Any Council
Funchal recorded the highest number of incidents, with 54 calls. Civil Protection sent 136 firefighters and 56 vehicles to respond across the capital.
Câmara de Lobos and Machico tied for second place, each with 32 incidents. Câmara de Lobos drew 88 firefighters and 31 vehicles, while Machico saw 97 firefighters and 33 vehicles deployed, despite the lower incident count.
Ponta do Sol Reports 17 Incidents, Calheta Eight
Ponta do Sol logged 17 incidents, backed by 53 firefighters and 19 vehicles. Calheta followed with eight incidents, supported by 23 firefighters and nine vehicles.
Porto Santo registered two incidents, with six firefighters and two vehicles sent. Porto Moniz had just one incident, handled by two firefighters and one vehicle. Eight further incidents were not attributed to any specific council.
| Council | Incidents | Firefighters | Vehicles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Funchal | 54 | 136 | 56 |
| Câmara de Lobos | 32 | 88 | 31 |
| Machico | 32 | 97 | 33 |
| Ponta do Sol | 17 | 53 | 19 |
| Calheta | 8 | 23 | 9 |
| Porto Santo | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| Porto Moniz | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Not attributed | 8 | - | - |
Over 200 Calls Reported in Every Council
Storm Charles followed Storm Bruna, and the back-to-back systems brought a night of heavy rain across every council in Madeira and Porto Santo. Civil Protection's report describes more than two hundred incidents spread across the entire archipelago, with no council left untouched.
Regional Government officials reported earlier Wednesday that Storm Charles dropped more rain in 12 hours than the storm behind the island's deadly 2010 flood. This time, no serious injuries were reported.
Source: dnoticias.pt
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