A man is helped while trying to cross a flooded street in Funchal, the Madeira Islands' capital, on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010. Heavy rain caused flash floods all around the Portuguese island, and the local government has confirmed 40 dead. (AP Photo/Octavio Passos)UPDATED:
FUNCHAL, Madeira Islands -- Rescue workers dug through heaps of mud, boulders and debris Sunday in Madeira in search of victims of flash floods and mudslides that already had killed at least 42 people on the popular Portuguese island.
More than 120 others were injured and an unknown number were missing, possibly swept away or smothered, authorities said, adding that the death toll still could rise. Another 250 people were forced to flee their homes and go to shelters.
The worst storm to hit the Atlantic Ocean island since 1993 lashed the capital of Funchal on Saturday, turning some streets into raging torrents of liquid brown mud, water and debris.
"We heard a very loud noise, like rolling thunder, the ground shook, and then we realized it was water coming down," said Simon Burgbage of Great Britain.
Madeira is the main island of a Portuguese archipelago of the same name, in the Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of Africa.
The flash floods were so powerful they carved their own paths down mountains and through the city, churning under bridges and even tearing some down. Residents had to cling to railings to make sure they weren't swept away. Cars were consumed by the force of the water, and the battered shells of overturned vehicles that had been swept downstream littered the streets.
"It was horrible: There were cars on rooftops; there were vans and trucks that had fallen and been totally crushed," German tourist Andreas Hoisser said.
The water swept even a heavy fire truck downstream, slamming it into a tree.
The death toll "will likely increase, given the circumstances of this flood," regional social services spokesman Francisco Ramos said, adding there were still "great difficulties" with communications on the island, since phone lines were ripped out by the deluge.
By Jeannine Aversa - Associated Press
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