You’ve seen them flocking together at every major tourist site: groups of travellers in bright Hawaiian shirts escorted by their tour guides, who lead them around like herds of cattle. They snap photos with their brand-new cameras and are then wrangled back on the bus. One hopes that one day these folk will realise this is no way to see the world, watching the landscapes whirr by instead of savouring the journey.

On the morning of Saturday, 20 February 2010, the south of Madeira Island was lashed by an incredible 52mm of rainfall in one hour (9:00 to 10:00). The consequence was a series of mudslides and floods that struck mainly in the capital city of Funchal, Ribeira Brava and several other smaller towns in the area….