The bad weather that has greeted the arrival of March in the Canaries continued well into Tuesday, with parts of Gran Caria hardest hit on this occasion.
The downpours brought the rare sight of water rushing down usually dry ravines in several areas of the island, especially in and around Telde. The conditions turned so bad that Gran Canaria airport was forced to close temporarily due to flooding of its two runways. The airport halted all operations for just under an hour around 2pm, forcing a total of 18 flights scheduled to arrive on the island to divert elsewhere until conditions improved and the build-up of water and mud could be cleared.
The flights were diverted to Fuerteventura and Tenerife South, causing major delays to thousands of passengers due to the impact on operations throughout the rest of the day.
The torrential rain and flash floods in Gran Canaria, including the capital Las Palmas, and other parts of the Canaries attracted widespread coverage in the international media, with one video of a car being swept away by rushing water going viral: https://x.com/i/status/1896601253981114642
