100 homes evacuated during Playa Blanca rainstorm

The rainstorm that hit western Playa Blanca on Monday evening caused residents in over 100 properties to be temporarily evacuated.

“The residents were taken to a nearby hotel so that emergency services could work safely,” said Enrique Espinosa of Lanzarote’s Emergency Consortium. Emergency workers, police, civil protection employees and volunteers worked through the night to remove water from homes, and a wall that had been blocking water was deliberately demolished with a digger. 

The process of assessing damage is now underway, and Mayor Óscar Noda has said that a claim will be made with the Insurance Compensation Commission to support the worst-affected families and individuals.

105 mms of rain were measured in parts of Playa Blanca, as a cloud rained heavily over residential areas of Montaña Roja and Pechigüera for two hours. This is more than the 100 mms that fell on Costa Teguise during the flash floods of last April.

Storm Therese now appears to have passed, and the wind has now returned to its usual northerly direction, bringing a gloriously sunny day to most of Lanzarote yesterday.