Lanzarote struggles with flooding

Photo:Depositphotos

Spanish authorities soon lifted the state of emergency as no injuries were reported. The head of the Lanzarote rescue service said some houses were flooded and the flood wave left behind large amounts of mud. In total rescue workers responded to more than 250 incidents mostly in Costa Teguise and Arrecife.

Among the hardest-hit areas is San Bartolomé where flash floods swept away some cars and left others stranded on flooded roads. The Canary Islands are particularly vulnerable to flooding because their climate is mostly dry and their volcanic rocks do not absorb large volumes of water.

The current flood wave is the result of Storm Olivier which has swept across the Canary Islands Spain and Portugal in recent days. Spain in particular has been experiencing unprecedented flooding recently. If the forecast comes true torrential rains will also reach southern Europe this week where up to 400 millimeters of precipitation is expected especially in the Po River area.

Stormy weather is set to continue across the Iberian Peninsula in the coming days with the weather service issuing warnings for many areas of the country until Tuesday. The warnings include heavy rain in the Balearic Islands and strong winds on parts of the north and south coasts.

Source:BBC