The General Emergency Department of the Canary Islands Government has issued a warning to local councils to implement precautionary measures due to the potential for detachments in the coming days, resulting from the accumulation of rainfall following the passage of Borrasca Olivier.
Montserrat Román, the head of the Civil Protection and Emergency Care Service, stated at a press conference that it is common for detachments to occur after substantial rainfall and strong winds, similar to the incidents following Borrasca Nuria the previous week.
As numerous sports activities are planned across almost all the islands this weekend, this warning has been disseminated from emergency services to monitor those areas at the greatest risk on hillsides and slopes.
In fact, landslides were among the most frequent incidents managed by the Emergency and Security Coordinating Centre (112) over the past two days, following the accumulation of water in roads, homes, and some residences, as detailed by its director, Moisés Sánchez.
One of the most serious incidents occurred on Thursday morning on the TF-5, near Realejos, when falling stones from the slope led to an accident involving two vehicles, resulting in two individuals requiring hospital treatment at Bellevue Hospital.
The cause of this incident was identified as water accumulation in a channel next to the road in an area known for frequent detachments, Sánchez clarified.
Marcos Lorenzo, the Deputy Minister of Emergencies and Water for the Canary Islands, praised the collaboration among various administrations, highlighting the activation of emergency plans concerning flood risk, as well as the self-protection awareness exhibited by the general public.
In fact, the 112 service in the Canary Islands responded to 147 incidents related to Borrasca Olivier by noon on Thursday, with 94 recorded in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and 53 in Las Palmas. This represents only a 10% increase over typical activity without adverse weather conditions.
Moisés Sánchez underscored the “responsible utilisation” of the 112 service by the citizens of the Canary Islands, noting that while normally 72% of calls are regular inquiries, this figure rose to 80% during Borrasca’s effects.
Montserrat Román justified the activation of various alerts and warnings in the Canary Islands, indicating that the risk of storms has already been lifted, and that the remaining alerts would be similarly addressed in the coming hours, based on weather forecasts and the recent impact of another storm, Nuria.
She pointed out that the delay of Olivier’s arrival in the Canary Islands compared to the anticipated schedule, combined with heavy rainfall occurring at night, contributed to the number of incidents remaining manageable.
Additionally, the storm had been stalled for several hours in the channel between Anaga and Agaete, allowing much of the most intense rain to discharge into the sea.
Fortunately, there were no personal injuries reported apart from surface falls due to slippage, and there were no disruptions to electrical services.
The most prevalent issues included detachments affecting road conditions in La Palma, Gran Canaria, and Tenerife.
The meteorological forecast for the weekend suggests instability, but without sufficient intensity to maintain active emergency plans, according to Montserrat Román.
