EAST PROVIDENCE - This week rescuers on the vacation island of Madeira were using trained dogs to search for some 30 people still missing after the massive flooding and landslides that pounded the island last weekend. At least 42 people are dead. The torrential rains began Saturday, uprooting trees, flooding cars and pushing pedestrians around as the rain ran down the island and into the sea.

In Rhode Island, the floods impact rippled through the Portuguese community.

Albertino Milho loves his homeland so much that he named his Warren Avenue restaurant Madeira. “Welcome to our island,” reads the sign outside the large Portuguese restaurant he’s owned for 25 years. On Monday afternoon, Mr. Milho sat in his dining room and spoke of the village where he grew up and the island he visits often. In fact, he was on Madeira just four days before the disaster. Although he believes his homeland will recover, he said the immediate future will be difficult for the tourist destination.

“Right away I had phone calls from some friends I have there. They told me they had a big disaster … mudslides, landslides, a lot of raining that destroyed the whole city,” he said.

Mr. Milho has family on the island and also owns property there. Everyone is safe and sound, he said.

“Nothing happened in my location – thank God – but the city is totally destroyed. They have to work 24-hours-a-day to clean the roads and fix the streets and the bridges to make sure that we don’t lose the tourists.”

Joe Serodio, president of America Travel in East Providence, said his business books a lot of flights to the island. When news of the flooding hit, the cancellations came rolling in. For an island that lives on tourists, the disaster’s impact on the economy there cannot be overstated.

“It’s huge,” Mr. Serodio said, adding that some 90 percent of the island’s workforce are employed in the tourism industry. Aside from exporting bananas and their famous wine, tourism is the lifeblood of Madeira.

“That’s what they do. Tourism is the biggest industry. They work in different hotels and car rentals and as airport employees – everything related to the industry of tourism.”

“It’s busy all the time.

As for when that business will start up again, Mr. Serodio said “I’m not a civil engineer, but [I think] it will take at least 10 to 12 months.”

Waiting for the call

In Bristol, Alzira Guedes spent the weekend waiting for a call to see if her family was safe. A native of the island, she grew up in the village of Feixal. Ms. Guedes still has an aunt and cousins there. She didn’t know they were safe until Tuesday.

“We just found out this morning. We were trying to call them and we hadn’t been able to get in touch with them,” she said.

“Nothing was touched. They had a lot of rain, but they were very, very lucky.”

She visits the island with her husband and children every few years. The couple had planned to spend the upcoming Christmas and New Year’s holiday on Madeira. The island is known to have one of the largest New Year’s fireworks shows in the world.

“It’s absolutely the most beautiful thing you could ever see,” she said. And although the island’s beauty and tourist attractions are well known, she said it has another quality that she misses every day.

“Of course it’s the beauty. But it’s how the people are there … so friendly. They welcome you with open arms.”

Ms. Guedes wants everyone to keep Madeira in their prayers as they rebuild.

Trying to help

“We have a pretty substantial community here, not just in East Providence but throughout Rhode Island, of people who come from Madeira. What happened there is just horrific,” said Sen. Daniel Da Ponte (D-Dist. 14, East Providence, Pawtucket).

While Americans are still coming to grips with the earthquake in Haiti and the many relief efforts assembled to assist that country, efforts to help the people of Madeira rebuild are slow to come together.

“I’m not sure right now of any grass roots organization – at least locally – to provide any assistance,” he said.

This week he sent a letter to the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation in hopes that assistance could be brought to the people of Madeira.

“As a fellow legislator with a heavy Portuguese constituency, I am writing to you in hopes we can combine our efforts to assist those who were left in need.” The letter was addressed to Sen. Jack Reed, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Congressman Patrick Kennedy and Congressman Jim Langevin.

In an interview this week, Sen. Da Ponte also focused his comments on the flood’s impact on tourism.

“That’s the reason why it’s so important to get aid there as soon as possible. The sooner they can rebuild the sooner they can get their economy up and running.”