Little more than an hour of constant rain was enough to flood dozens of homes in Playa Blanca, one of the coastal towns of Yaiza. The rainfall began at 5:30 p.m. and before 7:00 p.m. the Emergency and Security Coordinating Center (CECOES) had already activated several alerts for water pumping in two plots of residential buildings.
The most affected areas were those of the La Carabela residential complex, in Montaña Roja, and the Faro Pechiguera Residential Complex, near the lighthouse of the same name. One of the residents of the Faro Pechiguera skeletons has shown La Voz how the rain generated a large puddle in the garden of the house and, within a few hours, completely flooded the rooms. This scene was repeated in dozens of homes in the town, the most affected ones reached to concentrate up to 30 centimeters of water.
They also suffered power outages until well into the morning, problems with the internet connection and coverage, as well as rotten mattresses.
The situation forced the activation of the Specific Plan for Civil Protection and Emergency Care of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands due to risks of adverse meteorological phenomena (PEFMA). Broken sidewalks, flooded streets, and water currents made their way through some streets of the town.
To the scene, agents of the Yaiza Local Police, firefighters from the Security and Emergencies Consortium and Yaiza Civil Protection volunteers were mobilized, who were supported by those from Arrecife, San Bartolomé and Teguise. In addition to Emerlan personnel. Furthermore, the residents themselves began to help each other to try to pump out the water.
Despite the fact that most of the precipitation was recorded at 9:00 p.m. this past Tuesday at the Playa Blanca station, when eight liters per square meter accumulated in one hour, according to the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), the homes had already flooded in the early afternoon.
Lanzarote was this Monday on pre-alert for rain decreed by the General Directorate of Emergencies of the Government of the Canary Islands and on yellow alert for the same reason, with accumulated rainfall of up to fifteen liters per square meter in one hour.
