The mayor of Arrecife, Yonathan de León, has announced that the city will formally request to be declared a disaster area following the severe flooding caused by a torrential downpour on Saturday. The declaration would enable residents and businesses to access financial aid to recover from the damage.
In a matter of hours, the city received 70 litres of rainfall per square metre, overwhelming infrastructure and leaving significant destruction in its wake. According to Arrecife's Civil Protection service, 95 homes and commercial premises suffered damage.
More than 100 emergency personnel have been deployed in ongoing operations to assist residents, pump out water, and clear mud and debris from affected areas.
The mayor expressed gratitude for the support provided by local residents, emergency services, and various government agencies, all of whom have been involved in an intensive effort to restore normality. He highlighted the particularly severe impact of water and mudflows originating from the areas of Montaña Mina and Zonzama, which inundated large parts of the city.
The situation in Arrecife was made worse by earlier rainfall in neighbouring areas such as Costa Teguise and Tahíche, which also reported serious flooding.
Despite the scale of the event, the emergency declaration by the Canary Islands Government came at 4:00pm, some three hours after the first intense rainfall was recorded across the island.
Mayor de León has criticised the lack of advance warning, stating that the deluge caught the city off guard due to the absence of proper forecasts and alerts from Spain’s national meteorological agency, AEMET. He emphasised the need for the declaration of a disaster area to unlock the resources necessary for recovery and to provide immediate support to families and business owners facing serious losses.
Efforts continue to clean up and assess the full extent of the damage as Arrecife begins the difficult process of rebuilding in the aftermath of this unexpected and destructive weather event.
