Tourists and holidaymakers have been warned to stay indoors at popular Spanish resorts as mass flooding has been causing damage and disruption. 850,000 residents – 40 per cent of Gran Canaria’s population – are facing severe flooding. There has also been flooding in Tenerfir and Valencia.
Local authorities have issued red alerts. The Foreign Office updated its advice for UK visitors over flood risks. In Murcia, authorities have been looking for a man washed away by the flood waters.
Streets have been left impassable with water high enough to carry cars along the roads and block bridges. One video shared online showed a car being swept into the sea as heavy rain hit the island. In another clip, a car is caught up in the swell before it is flushed down the road and out of view, reports The Mirror.
A state of “pre-alert” was issued by authorities across all of the Canary Islands on Saturday, March 1, as the torrential rain hit the archipelago at the weekend. On Monday, Aemet, Spain’s national weather agency issued a red alert across Gran Canaria as the weather is set to continue this week.
While some cars were dragged into the sea by the aggressive floods, others lay vertical, stuck or destroyed. Bollards rattled and bins were also swept away by the heavy streams. A number of vehicles were dragged into the Las Bachilleras ravine.
A clean-up operation began as residents and firefighters picked up shovels and brushes to clear mounds of mud in the streets and houses of the badly affected Salinetas neighborhood in Telde.
But local news website Canaria Weekly said that emergency services remain on “high alert” and authorities have warned people, including tourists, to avoid unnecessary travel.
In Tenerife, at least 80 people were trapped in a supermarket amid flooding recently. In Valencia, on the mainland, a red alert has also been issued with schools closed across the region as a safety precaution.