By RUTH LOGNONNE ruth.lognonne@hexham-courant.co.uk

Last updated at 10:10, Monday, 01 March 2010

A BELLINGHAM couple have witnessed first hand the floods that devastated Madeira.

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Jonty Hutchinson and his wife, Val, who live at Fell View, feared they would be stranded on the Portuguese island as flood waters ripped through towns and villages on Saturday.

The disaster claimed the lives of 40 people – one of them a British tourist – injured 100 more and made hundreds of people homeless.

Jonty and Val, who own the village newsagents, were staying at a five-star hotel in the hills above the capital of Funchal.

Arriving back at their North Tyne home on Monday night, they recalled how the weather had been poor across the island for a month prior to their arrival on February 8.

But nothing could prepare them for the sheer devastation they were about to witness.

“I heard a roar in the night like a train coming,” said Jonty.

“The water must have shot down the mountain at about 80 or 90 miles an hour and dragged half the mountain with it.

“We went down the next day into the town, not realising how bad it was. The whole harbour was flooded and there was no way in or out via boat; the town was full of boulders and rubble.

“We spent a lot of time in the village during our holiday; it was devastating to see it under water.”

Despite being advised to stay in the hotel the following day, the couple did venture out – and saw first hand the effects of the floods.

Val said: “The scenes we saw were like something out of a disaster movie.

“We saw a van submerged, with less than 12 inches poking out above the water – it was unreal.

“Nothing was cordoned off or manned by the police. We couldn’t physically get across certain roads because water was shooting up through the Tarmac.

“We felt so sad for the people of Madeira to see their capital destroyed.”

Prior to the floods the popular holiday island had been buffeted by gale force winds and torrential rain – exceptional weather that even the local people described as uncharacteristic for that time of year.

“I had expected we would have four days of wet weather and ten days of sunny weather, but it was the other way round,” said Val.

“We were told it was an all-year-round sunshine island, with 340 days of sun a year.

“Instead, we watched people getting dragged from their flooded homes and put in the back of military vehicles to take them to sheltered accommodation.”

All flights leaving Madeira on Saturday were cancelled, but luckily conditions had improved sufficiently by Monday to allow the couple to catch their return flight to Manchester Airport.

Val said: “It was horrible, but thankfully we’re home.

“It’s the people who are left to pick up the pieces in Madeira that we feel sorry for.”

Rescue crews on the island are currently conducting a massive clean-up operation as the search for survivors continues.

Meanwhile, Portugal has observed three days of national mourning for the victims of the worst disaster to hit Madeira in 17 years.

First published at 06:15, Friday, 26 February 2010
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk