Lisbon, Feb 22 (DPA) Football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was “incredulous, shocked and dismayed” over the devastation of his native Madeira this weekend.
The Real Madrid winger said he wants to contribute to the Portuguese island’s recovery in the wake of severe floods and mudslides following heavy storms, in comments posted on Gestifute, the website of his manager Jorge Mendes.
Ronaldo said he shares in “the pain of Madeirans” over an “unprecedented tragedy”, which killed at least 42 people.
“Nobody can be indifferent to this calamity of major proportions, and least of all I, who was born and grew up in Madeira,” Ronaldo said.
“For this reason, I want to express my disposition to help official organs and entities, as far as I can, so that the effects of this great devastation may be decreased and overcome”.
Gestifute said Ronaldo, 25, spent Saturday following events in Madeira and particularly in island capital Funchal, where the player was born. Ronaldo’s mother and much of his family still live on the Atlantic island, about 850 km south-west of Lisbon.
About 70 people were injured and 248 left homeless by the storms, which devastated Madeira Saturday.
It was not clear how many people remained missing after water swept away people, cars and trees. Some bridges collapsed, buildings were destroyed and streets were rendered unusable.
Several localities remained cut off from the outside world, with power outages and water shortages persisting in some places, while the rains continued with less intensity.
Known for its spectacular vegetation, “flower island” Madeira has 265,000 residents. It is the largest island in an archipelago of the same name. About 1 million tourists visit Madeira annually.
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