At least 25 people have been killed in floods and mudslides after torrential rains hit the Portuguese island of Madeira, a government minister says.Sixty-three others were reported have been injured on the Atlantic island, which is popular with foreign tourists.
It is not yet clear whether there are tourists are among the casualties.
The local civil protection service was "overwhelmed" by calls from people asking for help after the rains, a duty officer told Reuters news agency.
According to Portuguese media, the storms were the deadliest on Madeira since October 1993, when eight people died.
'Ghost town'
Television pictures showed muddy torrents coursing down narrow channels and spilling over the sides, roads awash with water and streets littered with debris.
The island's airport was closed and Funchal mayor Miguel Albuquerque advised people to stay at home, AFP news agency said.
Overnight, strong winds of more than 100 km/h and heavy rain caused flooding and landslides and brought down trees, particularly in southern Madeira, it said.
Emergency services were hampered by blocked roads and high seas.
British holidaymaker Cathy Sayers told the BBC the capital Funchal was like a ghost-town. She said the infrastructure had been "decimated" by the water cascading down from the hills.
"The drains just cannot cope with the water that's coming down from the mountains - they are just overfilled with sludge."
There had not really been any warning that it would be quite so bad, she said.
"I think everyone is extremely shocked that this has happened at this time of year," she said.
Aid promise
Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates expressed his "profound shock" at the size of the calamity affecting Madeira, and the authorities promised to organise aid for the autonomous region, Reuters news agency reported.
Mr Socrates was expected to arrive on the island in a matter of hours, a journalist with the official Lusa news agency told the BBC.
Interior Minister Rui Pereira said local authorities had reported "25 confirmed deaths" after violent rainstorms on Saturday.
Unconfirmed reports carried by national media put the number of deaths at 31.
Lisbon was considering declaring a state of emergency in the region, Mr Pereira added.
