Mudslides and flooding kill at least 42 in Madeira Islands

More than 120 other people were injured and an unknown number were missing, possibly swept away or smothered, authorities said, adding the death toll could still rise. Of the 248 people forced to flee their homes for temporary shelters, 85 have been allowed to return home, Ramos said.

Late yesterday, a spokeswoman for the British Foreign Office confirmed that a British national had died, but declined to give further details. The spokeswoman spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with department policy.

The Foreign Office also said a small number of Britons had been hospitalized on Madeira. The island is popular with British tourists, who for centuries have regarded wines made in Madeira as a luxury product.

The worst storm to hit Madeira since 1993 lashed the south of the Atlantic Ocean island, including the capital, Funchal, on Saturday, turning some streets into torrents of mud, water, and rolling 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 Britain.

Madeira is the main island, with a population of around 250,000, of a Portuguese archipelago of the same name in the Atlantic just over 300 miles off the west coast of Africa.

The flash floods were so powerful they carved paths down mountains and ripped through the city, churning under some bridges and tearing others down. Residents caught in the torrent clung to railings to avoid being swept away. Cars were tossed about by the force of the water; the battered shells of overturned vehicles littered the streets.

The raging water swept a firetruck downstream, slamming it into a tree. Funchal residents and visitors must now contend with a lack of fresh water until infrastructure is repaired, Pimenta de Franca, the head of water services, said.

“One of the main conduits of the city, which is upstream of most of the public distribution systems, has simply disappeared,’’ said Franca.

The death toll “will likely increase, given the circumstances of this flood,’’ Ramos said, adding that there were great difficulties with communications on the island since phone lines were ripped out by the deluge.

A medical team backed up by divers and rescue specialists arrived yesterday aboard a C-130 transport plane at the archipelago, 550 miles southwest of Lisbon.