I have friends who moved from Madeira Island to Àgueda, last year. The town lies near Aveiro which is between Lisbon and Porto. This is their report, Ursula Hahn
This year, we’ve seen so few hours of sunshine that you could count them on one hand, but instead we’ve had rain every day, downpours and even more downpours. The first hurricane of our lives (Kristin) also raged here; it was really scary at night, with the storm rumbling louder than the typical storm noises. Our fields were already flooded in November/December, and it had already rained heavily then, but what is still coming down now!
We are located slightly above our town and the river, so we are safe. Our garden looks wild and our strawberry tree has been uprooted, but that’s nothing compared to the many people who have lost their homes and possessions and will remain without electricity until the end of the month. Leiria, Figueira da Foz, Nazaré, Coimbra, and Alcácer do Sal have been particularly hard hit, as you have probably seen on the news. The small town of Eieira has even become an island, surrounded by two rivers.
The river in our town (Águeda) has several closed weirs, but some of them have already been flooded, some streets are repeatedly under water, and there is nowhere for the water to drain away. Several roads are also closed (flooded) here, and it is impossible to tell where the river or lake ends and the fields begin; everything is more or less one big lake. The only ones who are happy are the seagulls, herons, and some of the many storks. The dogs don’t know what it’s like to go for a walk anymore. The whole thing is pretty frightening.
Fortunately, these storms didn’t hit Madeira directly, but it must have been bad in the Azores. The weather forecasters say that the annual Caribbean storms have shifted and ended up here, thanks a lot…
P & S
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