Lanzarote’s resorts and roads have been submerged by floodwater after the holiday hotspot was hit by an enormous storm.
Shocking footage emerging from tourists across the island show brown muddy waters sweeping through the streets, leaving vehicles and properties unreachable.
Some hotels were left without power as services across the island were affected following the torrential rainfall, which one British tourist described as feeling like ‘Armageddon’.
Citizens and holidaymakers were forced to wade through the streets which became deep, fast-flowing rivers, while others took shelter on balconies and higher land.
Chain barriers were hung at the entrance of the Hotel Beatriz Costa and Spa in Teguise, Las Palmas, deterring visitors from stepping out into the dirty floodwaters.
In one clip, taken by a tourist staying at the four-star hotel, grey skies were seen looming over nearby mountains as the rain lashed down onto deckchairs.
The accommodation’s swimming pool had completely overflown, leaving the draining system struggling to clear away the excess water.
The torrential rain forced local officials to call a state of emergency which was in place until 7am local time on Sunday morning.
But holidaymakers have been warned they should expect rain, isolated storms, and snowfall across the main mountain ranges in the coming days.
In one clip, taken by a tourist staying at the four-star hotel, grey skies were seen looming over nearby mountains as the rain lashed down onto deckchairs
Some hotels were left without power as services across the island were affected following the torrential rainfall
The pool in the Hotel Beatriz Costa and Spa in Teguise, Las Palmas, was left completely overflown by the floods
Local excursion center employees attempted to rescue their equipment from the disaster flooding
In some spots, around 60 litres of water fell on each square metre during the two-hour storm on Saturday afternoon.
Mike Hallet, 53, a British tourist in Lanzarote, told Metro: ‘The motorways were flooded, water was coming off embankments like full blown waterfalls.
‘It was proper full on. I’ve never seen water like it. I’m amazed no one was killed.
‘It felt like Armageddon.’
The city of Arrecife, on the island’s south, was hit particularly hard by the extreme weather – locals were met by the stench of untreated sewage caused by flooding overwhelming the drainage system.
Also badly affected were the towns of Tahiche, Costa Teguise, Guatiza and Nazaret.
Emergency services were called to 152 incidents in Costa Teguise on Saturday evening, and a further 70 in Arrecife, according to local media reports.
In urgent advice, the Foreign Office said: ‘Services across the island are affected, some hotels are currently without power. Some roads are currently affected by mud.
‘If you are in Lanzarote or travelling to Lanzarote, follow the advice of the local authorities and monitor local weather updates’.
Spain‘s meteorological service issued weather warnings for many areas of the country from Sunday to Tuesday, including storms in the northeast, rain in the Balearic islands and wind in parts of both the north and south coast.
Temperatures will drop in most places, the AEMET said, except along the Cantabrian coast. From Tuesday to Wednesday, a wave of icy air will sweep across Spain, sending temperatures tumbling and even bringing snow to higher ground.
Snowfall could hit areas as low as 900 metres above sea level, especially in mountain regions, while rain and thunderstorms continue across much of the country.
Spanish news outlet Ultimas Noticias Canarias also took to X to share distressing footage of how the flooding had affected an animal shelter
Several animals including dogs and cats were seen cowered in their cages which were left sinking in the brown water
The streets on the island were turned into a deep, fast-flowing rivers that left cars on them impossible to reach and homes lining them completely soaked through
In some spots, around 60 litres of water fell on each square metre during the two-hour storm
The torrential rain, left by an enormous storm on Saturday afternoon, forced local officials to call a state of emergency which was in place until 7am local time Sunday morning
Shocking footage has revealed Lanzarote submerged under water after the holiday hotspot was hit with a two-hour deluge
Two flights from Manchester, two from Gatwick, two from Bristol and others from Cardiff, Stansted, Birmingham, Bournemouth and Dublin had to be diverted to Fuerteventura due to low visibility prior to the weekend, local Canary Islands media reported.
In another video uploaded on to social media showed local excursion center employees attempting to rescue their equipment from the disaster flooding while holidaymakers walked through the filthy water in flipflops.
Locals donning plastic raincoats took to using shovels in an attempt to scoop the water from their shopfronts into the roads which were already submerged in the deluge.
Spanish news outlet Ultimas Noticias Canarias also took to X to share distressing footage of how the flooding had affected an animal shelter.
Several animals including dogs and cats were seen cowered in their cages which were left sinking in the brown water.
‘Sara Animal Shelter, with numerous dogs and cats in her care at #Lanzarote, is asking for help after the #inundaciones incidents this Saturday,’ it wrote.
‘When the caretakers arrived, many of the animals were scared and wet in their cages and shelters’.
Lanzarote has since been taking on a huge cleanup operation with locals and resort worker rallying to drain the water and clear away the mud.
But somehow, other parts of the island were completely dry.
Despite this, officials warned locals and tourists alike to take precautions and to avoid unnecessary journeys.
It comes weeks after the Spanish holiday hotspot of Malaga turned white after a freak winter storm covered parts of the region in a blanket of hail and snow.
Striking images and footage showed streets submerged in floodwater and heavy hail crashing down from grey skies.
Giant hailstorms were seen hitting cars and leaving the roads covered in white icy rocks in the town of Alhaurín el Grande.
Large hail also fell in areas such as Campanillas, Puerto de la Torre and Teatinos after Spain’s national weather agency Aemet had extended a yellow warning for heavy rain and hail.
Torcal de Antequera, a popular tourist destination, also experienced the heavy snowfall, which made for spectacular scenes.
