The Arrecife City Council activated the PEMU, Municipal Emergency Plan, this Wednesday, December 31, in response to AEMET's forecasts regarding the effects of storm Francis, which may bring heavy showers and strong winds.
The city's mayor, Yonathan de León, signed the decree activating the PEMU preventively this Wednesday, and its effective entry will be from 6:00 PM this Thursday, January 1, 2026. With the activation of the PEMU, it will allow the activation and deployment of all personnel preventively.
The decree activating the PEMU reflects the forecasts of AEMET and the guidelines of the Specific Emergency Plan for the Canary Islands for Adverse Meteorological Phenomena (PEFMA), and the declaration of Alert in the Canary Islands by the Directorate General of Security and Emergencies of the regional government due to rain on all the islands of the Canary Archipelago.
As is known, Arrecife, the capital of Lanzarote, due to its location almost at sea level and "being a natural outlet for rainfall," has an elaborated Municipal Action Plan for Flood Risk (PAMRIA), which operates in conjunction with higher-level territorial emergency plansDuring this situation, the municipal Civil Protection coordinator assumes technical direction of the PEMU, and all municipal personnel will be under their technical coordination, jointly with the city mayor
Yonathan de León, directly responsible for the Public Works and Local Police Departments, respectively, has activated human reserve teams so that, if necessary, they can assist the population. This assistance is reinforced by the City Council's Department of Security and Emergencies, headed by councilman Kevin Cortés, to which the Arrecife Civil Protection Unit is attached.
Avoid parking vehicles in areas sensitive to rain
The City Council reminds the public that the Municipal Action Plan for Flood Risk (PAMRIA) establishes, in its articles, informing the population to avoid parking vehicles in areas sensitive to flooding, known in the city of Arrecife, given the forecasts of heavy rains and strong winds starting Thursday, January 1, 2026. The parking ban is activated from tonight, with the decree of the PEMU.
The Aemet does not rule out the possibility of "occasionally heavy" rainfall episodes in the eastern islands throughout Thursday night and early Friday the 2nd, where moderate intensity precipitation is generally expected to affect the islands.
Work to channel ravines north of Argana Alta
Since last autumn, workers and machinery from the Arrecife City Council's Public Works Department have been carrying out work to channel the outlets of the ravines that cross the Argana Alta neighborhood, in the area where it converges with the Municipal Football Field, and the road connecting to the Municipal Cemetery.
As is known, the Argana Alta neighborhood, built in the last 50 years, is located next to the ravines that descend from Zonzamas, Mina, and Maneje, and which, in times of heavy rainfall, have caused water runoff seeking its natural outlet to the tide, as the center of Arrecife is a natural estuary, having emerged almost three centuries ago as a port and coastal city, and its center being at sea level.
From the Department of Security and Emergencies, sandbags have already been distributed to help residents build walls in front of the access doors to their homes and garages where flooding occurs during periods of heavy rain.