The death toll in flash floods on the ­Portuguese holiday island of Madeira rose to at least 42 as search teams began digging for survivors and environmentalists blamed greed and overbuilding for the scale of the tragedy.

Army and police rescue teams from mainland Portugal started sifting through mud and debris left behind by flooding and mudslides after a torrential storm ravaged the island on Saturday.

Authorities warned that the death toll in the island's worst tragedy for a century would increase as rescuers travelled to towns and villages cut off by floods and rockfalls. Several villages remained inaccessible yesterday and telephone services were still cut in some areas.

More than 120 people, including visiting tourists, were injured and an unknown number of others were missing, possibly swept away or smothered. The Foreign Office tonight confirmed that a Briton had died following the flooding.

Authorities said the breakdown in telephone services meant it was impossible to estimate exactly how many people were still missing. "The death toll will probably increase, given the circumstances," regional social services spokesman Francisco Ramos said. A further 250 people were evacuated from homes, with the local government providing emergency accommodation in temporary shelters.

Military engineers arrived yesterday to start emergency repairs on bridges damaged by torrents of water. Sniffer dogs and military divers were also called in to help look for bodies as the weather improved late yesterday. The island's airport was reopened in the morning and was packed with tourists, many of them British, trying to get home.

Streets in Funchal, the island capital, were littered with debris and coated with mud. Many deaths were caused by torrents of water washing off the steep slopes of the dormant volcano at the centre of the island. One of the most terrifying scenes was at a junction on the main road above Funchal, where a wave of water washed cars on to the roofs of houses. A driver saw his wife and five-year-old child swept away. There were also reports of panicked calls from inside road tunnels as trapped drivers warned of rising water levels. In one spot the water washed away a fire engine that reportedly took several cars with it, trapping those inside, including one child who died.

Three rivers cross Funchal in deep channels supposedly designed to cope with flash floods. These rapidly overflowed, sending torrents of water down streets and flooding downtown areas. Drains burst under the pressure of the water, which punched holes in the tarmac of some streets.

Rescue workers were yesterday ­trying to get through to several towns and ­villages still trapped by mudslides. These were mostly along the south coast of the island though there were also reports of problems in inland villages and at Seixal, in the north.

Pedro Barbosa, deputy chief of the regional civil protection service, told Reuters that one village, Curral das Freiras, was still cut off and could only be contacted by radio.

"We know there are some victims there, not a high number, but we will only know the details when rescuers reach the village later today," he said.

Prime minister José Sócrates said he was "profoundly shocked" by the severity of the mudslides. He promised the government would provide help to ensure Madeira could begin recovery work as quickly as possible.

Environmentalists blamed overbuilding along rivers that flow down deep ravines from the extinct volcano at the centre of the island.

"There have been innumerable failures in the way land has been developed which we have seen happening over many years and which, finally, are proving the consequences of working this way," Helder Sinola, head of the Quercus environmentalist group, told Lusa news agency.

Sinola blamed authorities for allowing building in areas liable to be flooded. This had been made worse by the dumping of rubble and earth in riverbeds and by overdevelopment that prevented water from draining into the ground.

"It is absurd to be talking about these things now," retorted the mayor of Funchal, Miguel Albuquerque.

The people of Madeira, a small, mountainous Atlantic island 560 miles off the south-west coast of Portugal, said they were suffering a double blow. Not only did they have to count the dead, but they also had to cope with the future impact of the storms on tourism – one of their main sources of income.

Eyewitness: 'Torrents of water appeared suddenly'



It had been raining heavily for much of the week, and already local people were complaining this was unusual. But nobody was prepared for what happened early yesterday morning when a wild Atlantic storm struck.

The wind howled and the heavens opened. It was a torrential downpour, more like being caught in a South Asian monsoon than on an island famed for gentle weather and winter sun. And once it had started, it went on, and on.

Madeira is a vast volcanic rock that sits in the sea. The water came cascading down the steep slopes of the mountains. Huge brown torrents of water swept angrily down the ravines. By mid-morning yesterday there were mudslips and bits of mountain were coming down. The island's infrastructure began to buckle. Mobile phone signals disappeared, landlines stopped working and there were electricity cuts. The airport was closed.

Torrents of water appeared suddenly, catching drivers in their cars. The worst story was told by Norberto Castro, who was driving with his wife and child on a road outside Funchal. "The car began to slide and I saw that I was losing control," he said. "I told my wife to get out with the child. I saw them fighting against the water and a man trying to help them. They were washed away." The body of his five-year-old son was found pinned against some railings by the water. His wife and the man who tried to help her are still missing.

There was damage all across the island and today rescuers were still trying to get through to remote parts of Madeira. In Funchal much of the damage was caused by the main river, which normally flows along the bottom of a channel that runs through the town. The storm turned it into a river of sludge, overflowing its banks and sweeping away bridges. Trees and masonry were swept along, getting tangled up in bridges until they gave way under the force of the water.

The water and mud flowed out onto the two main roads on either side of the channel, the Rua 31 de Janeiro and the Rua 5 de Outubro, and down into neighbouring streets. Two other channels that pass through the city were also reported to have overflowed.

The lower down the slope you were, the more terrifying it was. The worst damage was by the seafront, where it looked like the sea had risen, swallowing up the promenade, the marina and the restaurants along it. All that could be seen of the cars were their roofs, a British-style red pillar box poked its head just above the murky water and all the restaurants and bars were flooded or closed.Today the airport was packed with tourists trying to get home. Portuguese authorities said it was the worst tragedy on the island for almost a century.