TENERIFE GOVERNMENT CLAIMS FLOOD WENT SWIMMINGLY

SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Wednesday February 3 2010

The normally dry Barranco de Santos in central Santa Cruz on Wednesday

TENERIFE Cabildo president Ricardo Melchior insisted on Wednesday that flood precautions had worked well in the face of Monday's storm.

by JAMES TWEEDIE

Speaking at a press conference in the regional capital, Mr Melchior faced a storm of questions about the island's readiness for the emergency.

But while admitting that it was only by luck that no-one had been killed, he replied that the deluge – like November's flash-flooding in the Oratava valley – was a freak occurrence and that all reasonable preparations had been made.

Cabildo minister for water Pedro Suarez said that the island's barrancos – or ravines – which serve as a storm drainage system had worked perfectly.

The Cabildo president praised Tenerife's municipal councils and the emergency and environmental services for their response to the crisis.

Some 600 emergency and other government workers have been dealing with the effects of the severe storm since Monday.

Helicopters were carrying emergency supplies to remote rural areas.

The fire consortium had deployed their personnel in Santa Cruz, La Laguna, Tegueste, Guimar and La Orotava, and had handled more than two hundred emergencies in the metropolitan area alone.

On Wednesday there were 81 regular and 21 volunteer firefighters mobilised from La Laguna, Icod de Los Vinos and Tegueste.

The road maintenance service had 400 workers repairing the island's hard-hit highways.

Mr Melchior was dismissive of the accusation that the poor state of the roads prior to the storm had contributed to their disintegration under the flood waters.

Journalists also questioned why a derailment had occurred on the Santa Cruz – La Laguna tram system.

But he said that €11.3 million worth of damage was known to have been done at that stage.

Mr Melchior announced that the Canarian regional government had earmarked millions for repairs to infrastructure and for compensation to residents and businesses which had suffered damage to their property.

This included €2.5 million for road repairs.

Tenerife's public workers, households and businesses were still cleaning up after the flood on Wednesday.

Drifts of mud mixed with fist- and head- sized volcanic rocks remained in the streets of Santa Cruz.

The low-pressure weather system responsible for the storm lingered over the island, blanketing the capital with a near-constant drizzle.

Public transport was almost back to normal, with both tram lines running and some diversions to bus routes.

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