Tenerife has activated the Island Emergency Plan (PEIN) in response to the arrival of Storm Claudia, which is forecast to pummel the Canary Islands with heavy rain, flooding and strong winds from today. The Cabildo president, Rosa Dávila, announced Tenerife’s alert, warning that the island is now under an orange alert for flooding and adverse weather conditions due to intense rainfall and high winds.
As part of the measures, access to Tenerife’s Teide National Park and hiking trails has been restricted, and schools will close for the afternoon on the islands of Tenerife, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Palma, with children switching to remote teaching. As well as this, after tragedy struck Tenerife on Saturday (November 9), after three people were killed and 15 injured in rough seas, local councils have been urged to cordon off coastal areas due to the risk of high waves and dangerous sea conditions.
Emergency services, including firefighters, Brifor forest teams and Civil Protection, will be reinforced and all outdoor activities will be suspended from 3pm on Wednesday.
“Extreme caution is needed,” Ms Dávila warned, according to Canarian Weekly. “This is a very powerful storm that will have a major impact on our island, and we must follow the instructions of the authorities.”
The decisions follow AEMET, the Spanish state weather agency, upgrading its earlier warnings. Persistent rainfall is now expected, with locally heavy downpours alongside intense southwesterly gusts and rough seas, especially in the western islands.
According to AEMET, Gran Canaria’s northern coast is under a yellow coastal warning, with Force 7 winds (31-38mph) expected. The coast of Tenerife’s Metropolitan Area is also under the same warning, while yellow warnings for rain and storms are in place across much of the island, rising to an orange warning for rain in the east, south and west, with 30mm of rain expected to accumulate in one hour.
La Palma is also under orange weather warnings for rain, as well as yellow warnings for storms and wind, with maximum southwesterly gusts of 50mph predicted. La Gomera and El Hierro are also both under yellow weather warnings for rain, wind and storms.
On Saturday, several rough sea incidents rocked the popular island of Tenerife, resulting in the deaths of three people. Six French tourists were injured after they were swept into the water by a wave at Roque de Las Bodegas in the morning, while at 2pm the body of a deceased man was discovered in the sea at El Cabezo beach in Granadilla de Abona.
Just an hour later, at 3pm, another wave hit the pier at Puerto de la Cruz, in northern Tenerife, sweeping 10 people – several of whom were cruise ship passengers – into the water. A 75-year-old Dutch woman was pronounced dead at the scene. At 4.42pm, 112 received a new report that a man had fallen into the sea in the Charco del Viento area, described as a 43-year-old local, who was fishing when he was swept into the sea. He was evacuated to the hospital, but his death was confirmed due to the severity of his injuries.