Men spray water on the roofs of houses to protect them from an approaching fire in Curral dos Romeiros, on the outskirts of Funchal, on the Madeira island, Portugal, Tuesday, Aug. 9 2016.
Advertisement
View of Choupana Hills Hotel after last night’s forest fires in Funchal, Madeira island, Portugal August 10, 2016.
Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Tuesday he would request assistance from other European countries and Russian Federation if the blazes do not abate by next Monday.
Two other people have been seriously hurt by the fires, which have destroyed 37 homes and a boutique hotel as they advanced on the Madeiran capital, Funchal, regional government president Miguel Albuquerque told a press conference.
Aurelien Dutrievoz, who lives in a neighborhood in east Funchal, filmed nervously as huge plumes of smoke billowed over residential areas from fires he estimated were about 5-8 kilometers (3-5 miles) from his home.
By Tuesday, authorities had evacuated the hotel.
Around 600 people holed up in a Portuguese military base, sleeping on camp beds, and 300 were evacuated to the Barreiros stadium, Cafofo said.
With emergency services struggling to cope, the Portuguese interior ministry requested help from the EU.
An Italian plane has been mobilized, the European Commission said in a statement, adding to two planes deployed by Spain.
He said reinforcements, including firefighters and doctors, are due to arrive later on Wednesday from the Portuguese mainland.
The archipelago of four volcanic islands is located around 500km off northwest Africa in warm sub-tropical waters that have made it a popular tourist and cruise ship destination.
Forest fires are common in Portugal, and elsewhere in southern Europe, during August but a mixture of temperatures exceeding 86 degrees and strong winds since Saturday have caused damage on a scale not seen for years.
On Wednesday about half of the north was on alert for fires with the risk assessed as between “heightened” and “maximum”.
Advertisement
“The situation is difficult” but the tourists “have been understanding and we don’t have any cancelled reservations”, Cristina Pedra, head of the Funchal Association of Trade and Industry.
