The Arrecife City Council has activated the Municipal Emergency Plan (PEMU) since this Friday in response to Storm Emilia, due to alerts and pre-alerts for rain, wind, storms, and rough seas.
Following the activation of the PEMU, decreed this Friday, the Local Police, under the direct command of Mayor Yonathan de León, has deployed, jointly with the Department of Mobility and Transport, headed by councilor Mario González Altube, a deployment of officers to prevent vehicles from parking in sensitive areas of Arrecife where, for years, flooding has occurred due to heavy rains, such as those expected from storm Emilia, as it passes through the island of Lanzarote this weekend, also affecting other islands of the Canary Archipelago.
When this Municipal Emergency Plan (PEMU) is activated following the alert issued by the Directorate General of Security and Emergencies of the Government of the Canary Islands, the plan's articles regarding flooding in Arrecife determine that parking must be prohibited on certain streets in the island capital, which are already known to the public.
The waters from the probable and intense rains, swept down from the slopes in the ravines of Montaña Mina, Zonzamas, and Maneje, reach this low-lying area of the city seeking the natural outlet dictated by Arrecife's orography. For this reason, Arrecife's toponymy assigned the name La Vega to this area of the capital almost two centuries ago, where Portugal and Argentina streets are located, along with adjacent roads, which are reflected in the flood zone of the aforementioned Municipal Plan.
Next to these roads in La Vega is El Antonio street, on the sides of the Arrecife Sports City, in Titerroy, through which rainwater flows down from Argana Alta, crossing Tenderete and Hermanos Álvarez Quintero streets, heading for the natural mouth of Arrecife by the tide, the La Plazuela and Las Cuatro Esquinas area, both at sea level
The city council has requested citizen cooperation to avoid parking vehicles in flood-prone areas, as established by the emergency plan. Since Friday afternoon, the Local Police and the Department of Mobility and Transport have installed informative barriers at critical points to warn about the parking prohibition.
The Arrecie City Council has mobilized a contingent of 200 people, assigned to the Local Police, Civil Protection, Public Works, and Mobility and Transport departments, among others, who are already operational from this Friday and throughout this weekend. Likewise, the City Council has decreed the suspension of all leisure, Christmas, and municipal sports activities, a measure that will be in effect from this afternoon until 11:00 PM tomorrow, Saturday, December 13.
Civil Protection, Public Works, and Mobility in coordination to assist the population
The Councilor for Security and Emergencies, Kevin Cortés, whose Civil Protection Unit is attached to this Department, calls for neighborhood responsibility, recalling that any emergency situation must be reported to 112, which coordinates the response of all operational services provided by the Arrecife City Council.
Gutter fencing
In parallel with this preventive deployment, the Department of Mobility and Transport, headed by councilman Mario González Altube, is coordinating mobility personnel, with road closures and alternative diversions, if necessary, following the rain episodes forecast by Aemet for the island of Lanzarote this weekend
Starting this Friday, all personnel from the Public Works Department, under the direct supervision of Mayor Yonathan de León, have deployed protective barriers on the side areas of existing storm drains on sensitive streets to better channel rainwater. This is a system the City Council already used during the last alert.