Torrential rainfall swept across Lanzarote, causing severe floods that left hundreds of homes and roads underwater, prompting a state of emergency on the Canary Island.
Severe Floods Hit Lanzarote After Torrential Rain
Torrential rainfall swept across the Canary Island of ‘the Canary Island’ on Saturday, causing severe floods that left hundreds of homes and roads underwater. The situation was so dire that the island’s government declared a state of emergency overnight, with 6cm (2.4 inches) of rain pouring down in just two hours.
Emergency Response and Damage Assessment
The head of Lanzarote‘s emergency services, Enrique Espinosa, reported that emergency teams attended over 300 calls overnight, with many incidents concentrated in Arrecife and Teguise. According to local media, emergency services responded to more than 150 incidents in Costa Teguise and over 70 in Arrecife. The area of San Bartolomé was particularly badly affected.
Floodwaters left behind a ‘great quantity of mud’ in some areas, with dramatic footage circulating on social media showing a large surge of floodwater flowing rapidly under a bridge, leaving cars stranded on flooded roads.
Vulnerability to Flooding
The Canaries are notoriously vulnerable to flooding when hit with intense rain, due to their dry climate and volcanic rock composition. This means that the ground does not absorb large volumes of water well, making it prone to flash flooding.
The recent torrential rain came off the back of Storm Olivier, which swept over the Canaries, mainland Spain, and Portugal in recent days, triggering several weather alerts. Spain‘s meteorological service has issued weather warnings for many areas of the country from Sunday to Tuesday, including storms in the north east, rain in the Balearic islands, and wind in parts of both the north and south coast.
