A tourist was injured on Boxing Day when she was hit by a wall about 15 meters long in the tourist paradise of Playa del Inglés, reports La Provincia. The tourist, a Finnish woman in her 50s, was taken to hospital with leg injuries.
Over 125 weather-related incidents have been reported over the Christmas holiday, most from Gran Canaria’s capital Las Palmas. Hundreds of lightning strikes have been noted, trees have fallen over houses, roofs have been blown down and roads have been flooded.
Winds of over 30 meters per second have been reported from, among other places, Tenerife, writes Canarias7. The sea rescue has had to move out to save ships that drifted in the strong wind.
The municipal board of Las Palmas has declared a state of emergency and all outdoor activities have been cancelled. Residents have been urged to take “extreme precautions,” reports said El Diario.
Visibility is very poor due to intense sand haze. That, in combination with very strong wind gusts, means that Spain’s meteorological institute Aemet has issued a weather warning that applies at least until Wednesday.
In Puerto del Rosario, capital of the island of Fuerteventura, the air quality is “extremely unfavorable” due to the sand dust, according to the Canary Islands Air Quality Index.
Several flights have suffered delays due to the poor visibility.