The strong waves recorded during high tide in the early morning and afternoon yesterday forced the preventive evacuation of 150 people (mostly relocated to relatives’ homes), affected 151 houses (mostly second homes) and several vehicles, without causing personal injuries, in El Rosario, Candelaria, Güímar, Fasnia and Arico. Red Cross set up a shelter at the Abades Day Centre, which hosted seven users. Consortium of Firefighters, Local Police, Civil Protection, Civil Guard, the 112 of Government of the Canary Islands and staff from Security and Emergency of the Tenerife Island Council intervened throughout the Southeast.
In Candelaria, five houses in Playa La Viuda (Candelaria) were evacuated; 15 in Playa de Lima (Arafo); in Arico, 60; one in Bocacangrejo (El Rosario), and in Güímar, another 70. At the last minute, the mayor of Güímar, Gustavo Pérez, decreed the evacuation (from two to five in the morning) of the houses located around Playa del Espigón (La Caleta), the beach Cala de La Puente, the pedestrian promenade of Chimaje, Cueva de Cho Regino (El Puertito) and a section of the coastal road of Agache (TF-616), passing through Santa Lucía.
Large rocks moved, caravans buried by stones, cars displaced, houses with water, salt and sand at their entrances and infrastructure destroyed. This is how the day began in El Rosario, Candelaria, Arafo, Arico and Güímar after a tough night where the strong waves caused damage to avenues, houses and businesses near the coast. The alarm sounded at three in the morning.
The combination of several factors led to the strong waves. The most important element was the “large astronomical tidal coefficient”, associated with the new moon last Monday. Added to this were wind alerts also declared on the 8th throughout the Archipelago. Additionally, there was a warning for strong waves in place since Tuesday, predicting a strong swell with waves from one to 2.5 meters high and sea swell combined with waves from two to four meters. However, what happened was surprising.
El Rosario.
A family residing in a house located in Bocacangrejo was the only one affected by the waves on the Rosario coast. The water entered, but evacuation was not necessary.
Candelaria.
Although they heard noises during the night, Antonio Darias and Marco Aurelio Poncio, residents of Candelaria, found out through the news. “You can’t put doors on the sea,” they declared. Another neighbour, Josefa García, changed her morning walk route to one facing the coast. Trash and large pieces of wood brought by the sea covered the pebbles in front of the Olegario beach. She stated, surprised, that she had never seen such a strong tide in her life. In Playa La Viuda, part of the beach access was washed away and an uninhabited house, already in poor condition, could fall into the sea. The coastal accesses of the municipality are closed, as well as the Plaza de la Patrona, the Paseo de San Blas and the parking lot in front of the Town Hall. One of the most affected areas was the municipal pool. The strong waves caused several doors and decorative elements to fall, as well as other damages. Caravans and other vehicles in the area ended up buried in stones.
Arafo.
The scene was similar at Playa de Lima, with fifteen affected houses. María del Carmen García is one of the few neighbours who had not yet evacuated the area yesterday morning. She couldn’t sleep all night, alarmed by the sound of rocks crashing against the walls of her house and the possibility of being evacuated at any moment. The door of her house is in a small alleyway. To access it yesterday, one had to walk over large rocks and concrete blocks washed in by the waves that broke against the walls of her house. In the videos she recorded, the force with which the waves entered the alleyway and reached the height of one of the windows can be seen. Water entered her house. She has now placed a sheet of metal to prevent more water from entering. The municipal cleaning services expect to remove the debris once the storm is over.
The Councilor for General Services, Jonathan Gutiérrez, went to the site, along with the mayor, Juan Ramón Martín, and security personnel, to the area from the early hours of the morning. “It was the neighbours who raised the alarm during the night,” he stated. The area was full of stones and the affected were invited to move to safer areas. “The night was lived with a lot of terror and fear since the sea is uncontrollable,” explained the councillor. Only the elderly remember having experienced such a fierce tide, but a long time ago.
Güímar.
It is the second municipality with the most people affected by the strong waves. From El Socorro to El Tablado, the entire Güímar coast registered damages. Especially in El Socorro (damages.
On the Coast of Tenerife (Money in Euros),the aftermath of the storm was evident in different towns and villages. In El Puertito de Güímar, the sea caused damage to the promenade on Edelmira Pérez Campos Street. In Santa Lucía, the island government closed the coastal road as it passes through the neighbourhood. Las Bajas, an abandoned hamlet three years ago, is now inaccessible by road from El Puertito de Güímar. The most severe impact, however, was felt on the coast of Agache, from the TF-1 tunnel to El Tablado.
Almost at midnight, a “minimum evacuation from two to five hours” was ordered for homes near the Caleta Pier and La Puente beach in Santa Lucía; Calle Toninas from odd numbers 147 to even numbers 132 and then from odd numbers 123 to even numbers 88; the pedestrian promenade of La Rabiosa in Chimaje; and from the Nautical Club to Las Bajas in El Puertito de Güímar.
Fasnia.
The coast of Fasnia experienced less intensity during the early morning high tide. The strong waves caused some damage to homes along the promenade in Los Roques, affected by pebbles and sand, while in Las Eras, the sea entered the ravine that divides the town shared with Arico.
Arico.
One hundred people were evacuated, and around ten houses were damaged in Las Maretas and two more in Las Arenas. The Mayor, Olivia Delgado, reported that in the frontline of Las Maretas, the sea ripped doors and windows in the early hours. Several houses were boarded up with wooden panels. The municipality also suffered damages to public infrastructures, such as the seafront promenade in El Porís de Abona. One of the accesses to the neighbourhood of Las Arenas was destroyed, as the waves lifted the asphalt making it impassable for regular vehicles.
In Tajao, the strong waves sank dinghies. The same occurred in Las Eras. Although most residents of the Arico coast cooperated with the security forces and emergency resources, some ignored the warnings either because they did not want to leave their homes or returned before being authorised. However, the most concerning behaviour was seen when despite the rough seas, some individuals went swimming at Abades beach and the El Porís de Abona pier. Four firefighters from the Tenerife Consortium conducted a preventive operation in Las Maretas, with the presence of civil guards and Civil Protection volunteers from several municipalities to prevent reckless behaviour.
Abades Shelter.
The Emergency Response and Intervention Team of Temporary Shelters in Tenerife, by the Red Cross, set up around 24 beds (14 inflatable mattresses and 10 folding ones) in the auditorium of the Elderly Day Centre in Abades. This was explained by the team’s spokesperson, Sandra Sacramento Díaz. The group started setting up the equipment at 3:00 pm. Additionally, they set up a dining area in the facility.
Acorán Díaz was anxious about what could happen at his mother’s house, located at the second line of Las Maretas. Evacuated at 2:30 am yesterday, the woman was alone at that time. Diaz explained that the house “had some water ingress, but nothing significant.” Another neighbour arrived with her van filled with sandbags, which several men used to barricade the door and garage. Acorán mentioned that it had been decades since they witnessed a similar situation, but back then it was less severe.
Vanesa Reyes, residing on Cruz de Tea Street in Las Maretas, described how the water rose to over 20 centimetres and flooded the garage, kitchen, and landing. In the same area, around four houses were affected by the rising sea. Vanesa and some neighbours cleaned up until four in the morning, while Civil Protection volunteers evacuated other residents. Reyes recounted how the water took away a fridge from a neighbour on the frontline, and another woman had water reaching the height of the bed where she slept.
Meanwhile, a group of individuals of Cuban origin were sound asleep until they were awakened by persistent knocking on their door. Upon waking up, they found water in their living room, soaking a mattress completely.
Undetermined.
“Although conditions have improved, and we do not expect waves as large as those on Tuesday night, the coastal flood warning remains in place, and we must remain vigilant in case further action is required,” explained the President of the Council, Rosa Dávila. The Council maintained a surveillance operation for the risk of coastal flooding and activated the Tenerife Island Emergency Plan (PEIN). Regarding the damages incurred, Rosa Dávila mentioned that it is too early to assess the extent but assured that the Council would respond to this emergency “alongside the affected municipalities.”
Dávila visited Candelaria, Güímar, Arafo, and Arico, where she met with the respective mayors to coordinate actions. She was accompanied by the Councillor for Security and Emergencies, Blanca Pérez, as well as the Insular Director of Security and Emergencies, Iván Martín.
The high tide in the afternoon was less severe across the region, with forecasts for the small hours of the morning indicating fewer complications and even decreased wind intensity.
Cecoes.
The Director of the Canary Islands Emergency and Security Coordination Centre (Cecoes), Moisés Sánchez, highlighted that within the Specific Plan for Adverse Weather Events (Pefma), there was a pre-alert for coastal phenomena, pre-alert for calima, alert for wind, and alert for maximum temperatures. He noted that strong waves were expected, although not as intense as occurred. He pointed out that there was a high 100 tidal coefficient, exacerbated by the strong winds and coastal phenomena.
