葡萄牙爆发洪水泥石流灾害

At least 32 people have been killed in floods and mudslides after torrential rains hit the Portuguese island of Madeira.

Sixty-eight others were reported to have been taken to hospital for treatment on the Atlantic island, which is popular with foreign tourists.

It was not clear whether tourists were among the casualties.

The storms were believed to be the deadliest on Madeira since October 1993, when eight people died.

Madeira is the main island of a Portuguese archipelago of the same name, in the Atlantic off the north-west coast of Africa.

Floods tore down houses as the storm hit. Roads were blocked by fallen trees and rocks carried by flood waters, and some bridges were also downed, said the Lusa news agency.

Phone lines were knocked out, forcing emergency rescue services to appeal over local radio stations for off-duty doctors and nurses to report for duty.

Local authorities called in employees to operate heavy machinery like bulldozers to clear roads and remove debris. People in low-lying areas of Funchal fled as flood waters rose, Lusa said.

Madeira regional president Alberto Joao Jardim spoke to European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso, who is Portuguese, to appeal for emergency aid from the European Union.

Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates promised that help would be sent from the Portuguese mainland.

相关阅读：中新网2月21日电 综合媒体报道 20日，暴风雨袭击葡萄牙大西洋上的马德拉岛，造成至少32人死亡，60多人受伤。葡萄牙宣布该国进入紧急状态，并向欧盟各国求救。

据报道，马德拉岛地方政府的副总督表示，“我们已经有32人死亡，68人受伤，他们全在医院里”。葡萄牙内政部部长瑞-佩雷拉(Rui Pereira)说，“我们正在研究宣布一份进入紧急状态的声明的可能性，然后将向欧盟寻求帮助”。

葡萄牙首相何塞.苏格拉底许诺将提供帮助，身为葡萄牙人的欧盟主席巴罗佐也应请求，将向欧盟呼吁提供紧急援助。

葡萄牙军方在一份声明中表示，海军军舰以及直升机20日晚间从该国首都里斯本出发，搭载着救援、医疗小组以及减灾用的供给品前往马德拉岛。此外，21日晨，两架直升机以及两架C-130“大力士”运输机也从里斯本出发，前往马德拉岛的首府丰沙尔实施救援。

报道称，从20日开始的狂风暴雨使得洪水猛涨，山体滑坡，特别是马德拉岛南部遭受重创。当地风速达到每小时100公里，海浪很大。道路被倒下来的树木和石块阻塞，部分地区电力、通讯中断，为紧急服务措施的实施增添了难度，他们只能使用电台呼叫没有值班的医护人员前来救援。马德拉岛的机场被迫关闭，丰沙尔市长建议当地居民呆在家中不要外出。当地居民多被疏散，但仍有32人死亡，60多人受伤。

不过，气象部门预测称，最糟糕的时候已经过去了。葡萄牙媒体称，此次暴风雨的侵袭是葡萄牙自1993年10月暴风雨来袭，导致8人死亡以来，遇到的最严重的一次。