Six families were displaced in Ribeira Brava, Madeira, after damage to housing caused by the passage of depression Charles, according to the president of the municipality.
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12/11/2026
by
Lusa
Duas houses were “completely destroyed” and five suffered significant damage following the passage of depression Charles, Ribeira Brava, on the island of Madeira, leading to the relocation of six families, today indicated the president of the municipality.
“ We have six homeless families, four of them are in family homes, one in a local hotel unit, through the House, and one through Social Security services,” Jorge Santos said, in statements to the Lusa agency.
According to the Mayor of Ribeira Brava, in the west of the island, two houses were “completely destroyed”, one of which belongs to a family that does not live in the region and does not correspond to the first dwelling.
Another housing will be the subject of a technical analysis by the municipal services today, in order to assess safety issues and whether the family will need another home.
The remaining four affected houses have significant damage, “but likely to recover” and cleaning is being carried out so that families can return.
These houses affected in the early hours of Wednesday are located in Lugar da Serra and Serra de Água, in the municipality of Ribeira Brava.
During this period, Madeira was under red warning due to strong wind and precipitation forecasts.
The mayor also said that about 200 families remain today without drinking water, adding that the municipality will distribute bottled water this morning to the affected.
The municipality is clearing one of the roads affected by the bad weather caused by depression Charles, so that the public company ARM – Waters and Waste of Madeira can reestablish the drinking water network, Jorge Santos explained.
According to the last balance of regional civil protection, Madeira registered, between 20:00 on Tuesday and 18:40 on Wednesday, a total of 328 occurrences, which mobilized 813 operational and 341 vehicles.
According to the Regional Civil Protection Service, the most significant occurrences were mass landslides (88), tree falls (50) and road cleaning (34).
The municipality of Funchal is the most affected, adding 95 occurrences, followed by the adjacent municipality to the east, Santa Cruz with 78, Machico at the eastern end of the island with 43 and Câmara de Lobos, neighboring to the west of the main city of the region, with 42.
The different municipalities and regional authorities are carrying out the necessary sludge cleaning and other waste left behind by bad weather.
The most serious situations recorded were the affected dwellings in the municipality of Ribeira Brava and the situation of a 78-year-old man, who was dragged by the water of a river that climbed in the parish of São Roque, Funchal, and was later rescued with life.
The classified pedestrian routes remain closed today for security reasons, the Regional Government indicated.
According to Civil Protection, a number of roads and accesses in the 11 municipalities of Madeira remain conditioned or closed, especially along the coast and in the high areas.
On the other hand, the movement at Madeira Airport has now returned to normal, after the conditions recorded in recent days.