The sound of rocks crashing against the infrastructure woke up many residents who on Wednesday morning approached the avenues to see the state of their town. Many others, up to 40 affected individuals in the municipalities of El Rosario, Candelaria, Arafo, Arico, and Güímar, experienced first-hand the havoc of an episode whose magnitude was unexpected. A sense of concern permeated the southeastern part of the island. Residents visited the avenue’s shops to inquire about what had happened and to lament the devastation caused.
The scene in Arafo was striking. The main affected homes are those in Playa de Lima. María del Carmen García is one of the few neighbours who had not evacuated the area. She had not been able to sleep all night, alarmed by the sound of rocks crashing against the walls of her home and the possibility of being evacuated at any moment. The entrance to her house is through a small alleyway. Accessing it after yesterday’s episode involved maneuvering over large rocks and concrete blocks that had been dragged by each wave crashing against the walls of her home.
María del Carmen recorded several videos showing the force with which the waves entered the alleyway, reaching the height of one of the windows. Water also entered her house. She now has a metal sheet in place hoping to prevent more water from coming in. Her husband has been living in the area for 40 years and had never seen anything like it. For now, they have not cleared the debris from the entrance to their door. Cleaning services and the Town Hall expect to remove them once the storm ends in case more rocky material is displaced by the tide.
Playa de Lima, Arafo
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In addition to the alleyway where neighbour María del Carmen García resides, the rough sea in Arafo affected several front-line homes. The Councillor for Road Infrastructure, General Services, Sports, and Leisure, Jonathan Gutiérrez, along with the Mayor, Juan Ramón Martín, and the security forces, moved to the area in the early hours of the morning. “It was the residents who raised the alarm during the night, so we went to the area with shovels to facilitate access,” the councillor stated.
The area was full of rocks, and efforts were made to urge the affected individuals to move to safer environments. Not because they were in danger inside the houses, he acknowledged, but because if the tide rose again, evacuating would be problematic due to the difficult access.
Neighbors in the coastal area of Arafo preparing for the sea to rise in the next hours / Claudia Morín
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Efforts were not only focused on the area of houses but also on the logistics area of Hiperdino, where some incidents were also reported. Despite the ongoing alert, any anticipated damage will be purely material. Of the approximately eight beachfront homes, he emphasized that only one family with two children has been directly affected.
“The night was filled with terror and fear, as the sea is uncontrollable in its height and power,” explained the councillor after hearing the accounts of some individuals who witnessed waves of one and a half meters crashing against buildings near the coast. He emphasizes that this is an event not experienced in recent years. Water usually enters, but not with such violence. Only the elderly residents of the area remember having experienced such a fierce swell, but a long time ago.
Amazement in Candelaria
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Many blamed the events on the eclipse of April 7th, however, according to the report from the Island Corporation, multiple factors coincided to create such a massive swell. The most significant element was the “large astronomical tidal coefficient” associated with the new moon on Monday, April 8th, combined with wind alerts also issued on April 8th throughout the archipelago. There was also a high surf advisory for Tuesday, April 9th, predicting a strong swell with waves reaching one to 2.5 meters high and sea surge combined with waves of two to four meters. Although they never thought the destruction would be as extensive.
Residents of Candelaria like Antonio Darias and Marco Aurelio Poncio learned of the events through the news. They also heard noises during the night, but it wasn’t until Wednesday morning that they went out to see the results of the high tide. Feeling powerless and surrendering to a greater force like nature, they stated that “you can’t put doors on the sea” and hoped that the avenues could soon regain their shape.
The playground located near the well-known churrería El Kiosco. / Claudia Morín
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Another local resident, Josefa García, changed her morning walk to one where she could see the coastline. She wanted to see the aftermath of the waves. In front of Olegario Beach, where trash and large pieces of wood brought in by the sea covered the rocks. She expressed her surprise, stating that she had never seen such a strong tide in her life.
In Candelaria, the conversation was focused on the recent events. Everyone discussed the impactful images they had seen and the experiences of acquaintances whose homes had been flooded by the water. In the background, the sound of shovels removing the rocks that washed onto the paths as if they were sand could be heard.
Incidents in the municipality
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After the Emergency Plan was activated, cleaning work carried out by the company Valoriza Candelaria, in collaboration with the City Council, began at six in the morning at locations such as the emblematic Basilica Square, where the waves covered a large part of its surface with mud and stones. Jesús Conde, the company’s general manager, stated that the scene they encountered upon arrival was quite concerning, “everything was destroyed”. Their objective for the day is to clear the areas as quickly as possible to make them passable.
The houses on Bishop Pérez Cáceres Street, the main street in the town known more popularly as La Arena Street, were the hardest hit, along with the area of La Viuda Beach, where four people were evacuated. Several dining establishments along the promenade suffered damages, and especially the employees of Bar Doña Pata worked tirelessly all morning collecting the damages caused to the terrace and windows inside.
The exterior of the Candelaria municipal pool area / El Día
One of the most affected areas was the municipal pool of Candelaria, which had been closed since the pandemic. The strong waves caused the fall of several doors and decorative elements, as well as other damages. The caravans and other vehicles in the area were buried in stones. The playground next to Churrería El Kiosco also woke up covered by a layer of stones. Punta Larga Beach, where one side completely disappeared, Los Pescadores Square, and San Blas Promenade are some of the areas in the municipality where the waves have caused damages.
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In the morning, Civil Protection personnel cordoned off access to the sea and hung signs to warn that the situation could repeat itself from 3 pm onwards, when the tide is expected to rise again. Meanwhile, twelve Valoriza workers were in charge of cleaning tasks from the early hours of the morning.
