Severe Flooding Hits Lanzarote Following Torrential Rainfall

Lanzarote faces challenges after heavy rains led to a state of emergency, affecting homes and infrastructure, though no injuries reported.

Heavy rainfall on the Canary Island of Lanzarote has resulted in severe flooding, prompting the local government to declare a state of emergency. This decision followed an astounding 6cm (2.4 inches) of rain that fell in a mere two hours on Saturday. Fortunately, the Spanish authorities have confirmed that no injuries were reported due to the flooding, and the state of emergency was lifted by Sunday morning.

Enrique Espinosa, the head of Lanzarote's emergency services, reported a frantic night with emergency responders fielding approximately 300 calls, primarily from areas such as Arrecife and Teguise. Notably, he mentioned, "Some homes had been submerged, with floodwaters leaving behind a great quantity of mud."

Local media documented that emergency services managed over 150 incidents in Costa Teguise alone, with upwards of 70 cases in Arrecife. One of the most severely impacted regions was the area of San Bartolomé, where floodwaters caused extensive chaos.

Dramatic videos shared on social media depicted the swift movement of floodwaters, with one notable clip showing a significant surge flowing rapidly under a bridge, stranding cars on inundated roads.

This torrential downpour followed Storm Olivier, which had swept through the Canary Islands, mainland Spain, and Portugal in recent days, prompting several weather alerts across the country. As of Sunday, Spain's meteorological service has issued further warnings for bad weather expected from Sunday to Tuesday, including additional storms in the northeast, rainfall in the Balearic Islands, and high winds affecting parts of both the northern and southern coastlines.