For much of this past week, and especially last weekend, mainland Portugal enjoyed bright and breezy weather that saw the mercury rise to the mid-20s in much of the country.


Long beaches and al-fresco drinks were enjoyed by much of the population last weekend, as a prelude to spring set in, even in the usually cooler and rainier northern Portugal.


However, out in the Atlantic, for Portugal’s Madeira and Azores archipelagos, it was a very different story.


While on Sunday those on the mainland were looking forward to a few more days of above-average temperatures, the Azores government was tallying up the cost of wrath inflicted by Storm Kyllian.


The Azores Government said it would be conducting a “detailed” assessment of the damage caused to homes by Kyllian, which tore through the archipelago at the weekend amid prevision of 20 metre waves and 140km per hour winds.


The region’s Civil Protection Service said it had registered about a hundred occurrences and on almost all the archipelago’s nine islands, mostly on Saturday.


According to information from Azores’ Social Communication Support Office (GACS), on Terceira island, six families were relocated due to floods and damage caused by the storm.


According to the Portuguese Met Office (IPMA), 32 litres of rain per square metre fell on Terceira Island in just one hour, which caused homes to flood and roads to be closed.


Meanwhile, in Madeira, six people, including a five-year-old boy and a teenager of 14, were bowled over by a giant wave in Porto Moniz, in the northern portion of Madeira Island, on Sunday.


The São Vicente and Porto Moniz fire and rescue service used three ambulances to transport the wounded to the Funchal Central Hospital, the most serious case being that of a child, who, according to a source from the fire and rescue service, suffered head trauma.


The remaining victims, who apart from the teen were aged between 40 and 45, suffered mostly cuts, bruises and hypothermia.
The entire Madeira island coastline was under a yellow weather warning due to rough seas and strong waves.


Porto Moniz is a highly sought after area, particularly among tourists, due to its beautiful natural pools.