The front associated with Storm Bruna has reached the Canary Islands in a less organised and weaker state than anticipated, and has caused a number of incidents in its wake, such as fallen trees, landslides and objects being blown about, none of which were particularly serious.
Just one person on La Palma has been injured after being struck by a chair blown by the wind, which has been the most notable feature of this storm in the Canary Islands: a gust of 112 kilometres per hour was recorded in Izaña, 106 at Roque de los Muchachos, and 103 at Alto Igualero, in Vallehermoso.
As for rainfall, accumulations of 10 litres per square metre have been recorded in Fuencaliente, 7.6 in El Paso and 7 in Izaña, according to figures updated at 11.00.
Storm Bruna: Authorities lower alert levels on several islands
Barely half an hour later, at 11.30 am, the Canary Islands Government’s Directorate-General for Emergencies decided to downgrade the alert to a pre-alert for rain in Tenerife, Gran Canaria, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Palma, and to do the same for coastal phenomena in Tenerife and the open coastlines to the north and west of the other islands.
It has also lifted the pre-alert for the risk of rain-induced flooding across the entire archipelago.
With effect from that moment, the Tenerife Island Council has agreed to ease the restrictions, which means the reopening of sports and cultural venues owned by the island.
This has meant that the basketball match between La Laguna Tenerife and Asisa Joventut can finally go ahead with spectators in the stands, rather than behind closed doors, as had initially been decided.
Tenerife accounts for most of the 16 storm incidents
Storm Bruna has caused 16 incidents in the Canary Islands since midnight last night, most of them involving fallen trees, landslides and objects being blown about by the wind, such as the case of a resident of La Palma who was injured when struck by a chair.
The head of the Civil Protection and Emergency Response Service for the Canary Islands Government, Montserrat Román, has explained that most of the incidents have been concentrated in Tenerife, where trees and branches have fallen and fences, drums and road signs have been knocked over.
There have also been incidents of objects falling onto public roads in La Laguna, Icod, Los Realejos, Tegueste, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and San Miguel de Abona.
La Palma: One person injured and landslides following strong winds
Five incidents have been reported on La Palma; the most serious involved a chair being blown by strong winds and striking a person, who was taken to a healthcare centre.
In addition, concrete barriers have been dislodged at the entrance to the quay, trees and rubbish bins have fallen, and there have been landslides on the LP-2 road in Fuencaliente.
La Gomera and Gran Canaria report further damage caused by the wind
On La Gomera, the CV 14 road has been closed as a precautionary measure in the El Rejo area, whilst on Gran Canaria several trees have fallen onto the medium-voltage power line in Moya.
Montserrat Román points out that these incidents have so far been isolated and mainly wind-related, and that no ‚particularly serious‘ situations have arisen.
Comments (0)
No comments on this article yet.