Madeira's Beaches and Pools Video.

Madeira Fires Update Thursday.

Its been a restless night in Calheta, as fires moved on to Prezeres.

homes were close to the fires and residents said it was a night of hell, and took to social media asking why there weren't more resources in the area.

The weather has improved a lot over night, with cooler temperatures, a huge drop in wind, but still the government say they cant rule out more fires in any area of the island. 

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The suspect for starting the fire in Sao Roque remains in custody, and another 4 people have also been identified.

yesterday a jerrycan full of petrol was found in Paul da Serra. 

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The 3 active fires over night into this morning are in  São João Latrão, in the upper zone of São Gonçalo (Funchal), in Câmara de Lobos  and in Calheta.

150 homes have been destroyed in the fires making them unfit for use, and over 3000 people have been displaced including tourists.

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The president Albuquerque has said they will again look into aircraft for fighting the fires.

This has been discussed many times in the past and has divided opinions as to the true effectiveness of such an action against the orography of the island.

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A beautiful image captured by Miguel Moniz of a common plant to the island, already popping up through the ashes.

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The hugely popular festival in Monte, Nossa Senhora do Monte, one of the largest religious festivals on the island will be cancelled due to the situation in Madeira.

The festival normally runs for a week with the 14-15 August being the main dates for the festival.

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Very sad to hear that houses that have been evacuated are being targeted for robbery, some people left their doors and windows open in the panic to leave the property.

Fire News Updates Wednesday.

Morning all.

I will try to keep all of today's news updates on this one post,  So you will have to keep checking back on this post during the day.

The fires of Madeira made the BBC Worlds News last night.

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It is believed that maybe 3 people have died in the fires in the Pena area of Funchal.

1 is confirmed to be an elderly woman who was bed ridden when her home was taken by fire, and still waiting for confirmation of  possibly 2 more victims.

This has now been confirmed that 3 people died in this area of Pena on Rua Silvestre Quintino de Freitas

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Choupana Hills the popular hotel resort in the high area of Funchal with the same name, was totally taken by fire during the night.

A photo of the now Choupana Hills Resort.

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Diario fromt page Fire from top to bottom.

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The centre of Funchal remains closed, the president want no one to go into work in the centre of Funchal while fire and other emergency services are doing their job.

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Calheta has woken this morning to several fires in the high areas. Fire crews are at the scene.

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A blog reader has sent me this information.

A friend of mine who lives at Madeira has told me, that the orchid gardens of Quinta dos Saltos and also the „Jardim Orchidea“ at Monte are destroyed by fire.

(this is still not confirmed)

TAP has announced to do some special flights by larger A 330 to bring the waiting passsengers to Lisbon.

Just at this moment the first one is on approach to FNC (see attached picture)

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Some photos of the fire damage in Funchal last night where 3 people lost their lives.

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A Go Fund Site has been set up by Richard Griffin who lives on the island of Guernsey and has many Madeiran friends living over there, and they want to help raise some money for the charities on Madeira.

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Madeira in the News

Reports on some other news websites. Guardian  Mirror  Mail Online  The Independent

Telegraph   Metro  Sydney Morning Herald  The Sun  Times  ITV news

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A large fire has started at São João Latrão near the Campo Nacional.

The fire is is getting larger at alarming proportions, and a house near by has already been evacuated.

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Help Needed 

Items are presently being collected for people who have lost their homes. This will be Collected In conjunction with the English Church in Funchal Clothing is in plentiful supply and they are always very grateful for it, but what they really need is UNDERWEAR. Big knickers...old lady drawers. Old men y-fronts....preferably unworn and without stains.lol.lol.lol.🙂 It's the one thing that never gets donated. So if you can just take the time to go out and buy a pair of knickers for some OAPs and post to Madeira, it would be very much appreciated. For the address to send to, please message me, and for those presently on the island a drop in collection at the park opposite the Ritz in Funchal on a Tuesday, can be organised. Also, new socks and vests are very much appreciated .

If you can help in anyway please email Janice at tootspemberton@yahoo.co.uk

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Following the fires in Calheta, at present there are huge concerns with the local business park. This is because the flames are over 50 meters high at Engenho Novo Madeira, where 200,000 litres of Madeira rum is stored.

People have said this is a bomb waiting to go off and hope firefighters can get it under control before that happens.

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More Troops have arrived the Airforce and National Guard from Lisbon.

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New fires broke out above Canico in Eires, and spread towards Camacha, also fire was reported to be spreading up on Paul do Serra, with the road being closed.

Also a fire in Santa Cruz in the zone Carreiras was being dealt with by firefighters.

Municipal Fire Department Santa Cruz were today called to help a 64 year old man who suffered a cardiac arrest while trying to put out a fire in the area of ​​Canico. After several resuscitation attempts the victim was transported by ambulance to the Hospital Dr. Nelio Mendonca, accompanied by the Medical Team Rapid Intervention (EMIR).

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The silence from Cristiano Ronaldo on the news in Madeira has upset many, and they are questioning the star on his official CR7 social pages about the situation. 

Madeira is news all over the world, but the footballer born in San Antonio and millions of fans on social networks around the world, has not yet made any comment on the tragedy. Maybe its time to rethink the Airport Name.
However, the mother Dolores Aveiro and sister Katia Aveiro have published regret reactions and solidarity for what happened

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Some areas in Quinta Grande (Camara de Lobos) have been without water since Saturday. THe tanks are empty, and a fire truck which was helping with water, but since returned to Funchal and has not returned.

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An image from Nasa shows the extent of the Smoke from Madeira.

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The suspect who is thought to have started the fire in Sao Roque Funchal is in court, and has been told to expect the maximum of 25 years in jail.

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Cristiano Ronaldo phoned this afternoon the President of the Madeira Regional Government to provide solidarity to the people of Madeira and to wish a speedy recovery of losses suffered.

According to the Diario  the Madeiran Footballer spoke directly with Miguel Albuquerque, probably feeling a bit guilty after seeing the news that people are upset with his silence, especially after he was only in Madeira 2 weeks ago, to open his new hotel. 

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Madeira Now

This dropped through my letterbox this morning, and looking through it I can say that this will be the best €5.00 you can spend while on the Island of Madeira, whether you are on holiday or living there. Giving you loads of info on what to do on the island with all the events listed for each month, and hundreds of discounts to save you money

Madeira NOW is a new Visitor and Tourism Guide – the first of its kind for the Leading Island Destination of the World.

136 pages packed with information to include What’s On and Where. Featuring Festivals, Shows and Live Entertainment; Beaches; Museums; Gardens; Levada Walks and Trails PLUS over 300  Restaurants / Bars and Tour companies collectively offering discounts conservatively valued at €1500.

For a small outlay of just €5 you can easily save €100 a week on your holiday.

The Guide is available in hundreds of places over the Island. You can also visit their WEBSITE and FACEBOOK PAGE.

 

Review Madeira Now. From The Irish Times

As first time visitors to Madeira we prepared by reading various guidebooks and checking some websites. On arrival we checked out some information points at the airport and in Funchal.

This proved frustrating as information was rather disjointed.

However on discovering Madeira NOW we were absolutely delighted because in this publication we found details of Activities, Festivals, Concerts, Theatre And Entertainment, Food And Drink, Tours plus Levada Walks and Trails for the whole island.

Even better - there was up to 25% discount on over 140 attractions, tours and shops. Many restaurants and bars - over 220 offered discounts up to 15%. We saved over €100 in a week!

This invaluable reference resource is now available from Kiosks, Bookshops, Supermarkets, Hotels And Travel Agents at only 5 euros.

A highly recommended guide to What’s On and Where in Madeira.

Madeira NOW published quarterly.

Marian + Frank McGreevy Co Down Ireland 28th April 2016

Festa do Senhor

Thanks to Joana Zita for the photos from Festa do Senhor in Santa Cruz last weekend.

Calheta rock fall update.

Thanks to Janice Pemberton for this update on the rock fall in Calheta.

Interesting information regarding the recent rock falls at Calheta Beach.
The geographer and environmentalist Raimundo Quintal said today, in an interview with Funchal News that the hotel occupancy and area of services in Calheta happened without the necessary guarantees of security and should never have been given over to residential.
Previously, he said, there was a village at the mouth of the river, and then another smaller village, located where the new hotel now is and previously there was a mill.
"The truth is that for so many centuries, across that front there had never been buildings, there were only caves in the rock where they kept the boats ... People knew that the escarpment was extremely unstable, and that this was regarded as a risk zone," So people should never have settled in that space or developed major activities. It is with the autonomy and the E.U funding that they began to build hotels, cars parking and a number of things like the marina and beach, and people were convinced that by just placing safety nets up on the cliff, it is sufficient. It has been found not to be so.
The well-known environmentalist concerns are that the area is in fact at a high risk of landslides.
The proof is now showing with falling rocks here, and there, but its now not just in the winter that it is happening, because there is indeed a very great instability."
Hot weather these days may just be giving a little help for these landslides to happen there.
So far, no one has been killed yet, but with the amount of people and activities now in that area, motivated by the beach, the risk of fatal accidents is indeed great.
That segment of the coast between the mouth of the Ribeira da Calheta, and the mouth of the other river, near to where they installed the new hotel is "truly dangerous".
It is very risky indeed, an abuse of nature, to have built a number of things in that area, and trying to dominated nature ... is not possible. The law of gravity is much stronger and more powerful than the will to install activities there. " So alert " that area will always be dangerous.

Some events for July and August

A few events to enjoy over the summer.

Free entry to the Sugar Museum for July.

Taking place 22-29 July

Atlantic Festival

The first of the firework displays kicked off last night as part of the Atlantic Festival.
As usual lots of photos and videos over social media.
Below a few photos from Ricardo Media.

Madeira Island Ultra Trail (MIUT)

A great video showing some highlights from the MIUT that took place over the weekend. Great weather and spectacular scenery.

And the results. Click to enlarge.