The estimated cost of the Christmas Day storm, in terms of damage, is in the region of €40.6 million.
The value of the material damages caused by debris obstructing municipal and regional road networks, paths, rivers, housing areas, the water distribution network, irrigation water supply, distribution network, energy supply network, electrical equipment and various other equipment centres amounts to approximately 29 million euros, according to calculations made by the Municipality of São Vicente, the Regional Directorate for Roads and the Regional Directorate for Social Equipment and Conservation, the Regional Laboratory for Civil Engineering and publicly-held companies: Investimentos Habitacionais da Madeira SA, Águas e Residuos da Madeira SA and Empresa de Eletricidade da Madeira, SA.
The 29 million euros covers a number of cost centres. Approximately 1.9 million euros (5% of the total) covers the cost of immediate interventions already undertaken by the Regional Government and the City Council to restore, where possible, access and essential services, namely the unblocking of road networks and water lines, the removal and transportation of debris, general cleaning of public roads, shoring up of precarious embankments and road platforms, the supply of water and electricity, as well as other minor repairs to ensure the safety of the population as well as social and economic activities.
The estimated cost of the repair and reconstruction of the regional road network amounts to some 17.5 million euros (61% of the total), and demonstrates the impact of flooding on the condition of public roads, and its impact on access to some urban centres.
Four and a half million euros will be set aside for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the river hydraulic network, namely hydraulic passages, bridges, and hydraulic channels.
The estimated expenditure for the restoration of 20 houses damaged by storm water is around 628 thousand euros (2% of the total). This includes the costs of relocating four families whose houses were deemed uninhabitable.
The reconstruction work should, in most cases, be completed by the end of 2022.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
