Janet Anscombe

Overview of News

The Director of the Instituto Geográfico Nacional en Canarias, María José Blanco, has said that Tenerife has reached a phase of “seismic equilibrium” after the intense activity measured in 2004. The Canarian National Geographic Institute has an extremely good ability to localize any seismic movements, assured Sra Blanco, who added that in fact out of 83 minor quakes last year, only 4 were strong enough to be felt.

Sra Blanco explained that seismic activity in the Canaries had a range of origins, some being tectonic, associated with the movement of faults, particularly a northeast-southwest fault which, in 1989, produced the largest earthquake registered here, of grade 5.2 on the Richter scale, and which is unlikely to be exceeded according to all indications from the geodynamic expertise available today.

Update 7 March: The concert will be in the dársena Los Llanos in Santa Cruz harbour. The date is confirmed for Sunday 6 June, 9pm. Tickets are now on sale from General Tickets/CajaCanarias HERE at €35 and €60. They are also available from El Corte Inglés. TinerGuía

Original post 28 February: Alicia Keys is to give a concert in Tenerife on 6 June this year. The concert will be the last of her European tour. It is still to be decided where exactly in Tenerife she will perform, but the concert promotor, Rolo Producciones, has indicated that it will either be in Santa Cruz or Arona.  El Dia

A 43-year-old man died today after suffering a heart attack in a water trip boat off Los Gigantes. The tragedy was reported just before 3pm, when emergency services were called about a man who had collapsed on a boat and couldn’t be brought round. Attempts at resuscitation both by a nurse who happened to be on board and by ambulance personnel when the craft put into harbour were, however, all to no avail and sadly, the man was pronounced dead at the scene. C24H

The Cabildo has announced that the TF21 (Vilaflor to La Orotava) is now fully open again. This means that the crater is once again accessible by traffic. There has been intensive work involved in clearing the road from rockfalls and debris caused by the various storms throughout February. The Cabildo still needs to clear the road from the pines that were blown down by explosive cyclone Xynthia, and so the La Orotava side (kms 19-22) will be closed between 8am and 3pm.  C24H

Update 4 March: Santa Cruz Policía Local is charging the driver of the vehicle with careless driving and two counts of reckless homicide. The 24-year-old survivor has already been interviewed today and is expected to be processed in Court within hours. According to the driver, he lost control of the vehicle while swerving to avoid another car going in the same direction and collided with a tree. As a result of that impact, the car rolled over several times before coming to rest upside down on the other side of the carriageway. The male passenger died at the scene, while the young woman died while being attended at the nearby Hospitén Rambla. Police sources say that all indications point to an excess of speed as the primary cause of the accident. Six witnesses have also given evidence to the Policía Local this morning.  El Dia

Canarian TV’s Sunday comedy programme Instinto Cómico ¡En Clave de Ja! (Comic Instinct in the key of HA!) is being filmed in Adeje on 4, 11 and 18 March. It’s a particular kind of humour, a mix between slapstick and parody, and it’s hugely popular, with viewing figures regularly over 145,000. The show’s website is HERE. Tickets for the recordings are now available in the Adeje Cultural Centre, at a cost of €5, and can be acquired between 9am and 10pm.  TinerGuía

To add to the doom and gloom of bad weather and power cuts, the latest unemployment figures have just been released, and they are a record high.

Figures released today by the Servicio Estatal de Empleo show February 2010 with a rise from January of a further 4,009 out of work, a 1.58% rise which brings the total unemployed in the islands to 257,939. Year on year, this means 30,233 more people are out of work right now than in February last year, a 13.28% rise. C24H

Update 1 March: Apart from the yellow alert, Aemet’s forecast for the entire week is not great. It seems there will be successive bad spells bringing showers throughout the week, and an “unpleasant” weekend. Aemet spokesman Ángel Rivera said that “the situation is not over yet”, with the coming week experiencing the follow through of the circulation of Atlantic winds, with their inevitable squalls and rain fronts. C7

Original post 28 February: Aemet has put Tenerife on alert again for strong winds. This time it is a Yellow Alert which will be in place for the Tenerife coastline from midnight Monday/Tuesday until 8am Wednesday. In the areas of La Orotava and Vilaflor, the alert will be in place until midnight Tuesday/Wednesday. Winds of up to 75 km are expected. The Yellow Alert also applies to Gran Canaria, El Hierro and La Gomera, and most of La Palma.  C24H

A 61-year-old man died today in Playa Jardín in Puerto de La Cruz. Emergency services were called around 4pm with reports that someone had been found floating in the water and had been dragged to the beach by other bathers. Medical teams could tragically do no more than confirm the death at the scene. National Police have taken charge of the investigation, which could suggest the poor man was a foreigner. El Dia

Update 1 March: The Guardia Civil has detained two members of the family of the young woman found dead in Güímar on suspicion of domestic abuse which resulted in her death. As a result both of the autopsy findings and the subsequent investigation, it appears that death was caused by multiple organ failure, which is said to be compatible with lesions found all over her body and indications of neglect. The couple arrested lived with the victim, and have been identified as M. A. R. R. and J. D. P. R., of 55 and 46 years of age respectively. The case has been declared sub judice by Guímar Court 1. C24H

Update 19 February 9pm: It has sadly just been announced that the 84-year-old woman has died from her injuries. LO

Original post 19 February: Several reports today from the emergency services of serious accidents in Tenerife.

A power failure caused a total blackout for Tenerife last night, the second in the last fortnight, and the third for the island in a year (fourth for the province in a year if one includes La Palma’s). According to Unelco-Endesa, the incident occurred at 1.19am and power was fully restored to the whole island at 6.30am. The power failure occured in the Candelaria substantion, in a part of 66,000 volts, which caused a knock-on disconnection at the Las Caletillas power station. This then caused a disconnection in the Granadilla “central”, and thus a blackout for the whole of Tenerife. Endesa is investigating the causes of this new breakdown and apologized for any inconvenience caused. C24H

A 72-year-old woman died this afternoon on Playa San Juan, in Guía de Isora. Emergency services were called at 4.30pm with reports that a woman had been pulled out of the water by other bathers, but despite ambulances and medics attending, they could tragically do no more than confirm her death at the scene. C24H

The hurricane force winds that have just left Tenerife have also left hundreds of fallen pine trees in the national park in their wake. Sixty forestry workers have been clearing the TF21 and TF24, the roads across Teide from Vilaflor to La Orotava, which crosses the crater, and the access road from La Laguna/La Esperanza. Both roads remain blocked by the blown-over trees. It is hoped that both roads will be accessible tomorrow, but it is estimated that it will take a fortnight to clear them completely. The Cabildo is maintaining its ban on mountain activities, and walking on forest tracks, and use of leisure and camping facilities remain prohibited for the moment. C24H

Update 28 February 10am:
The BBC is putting the death toll caused by Xynthia’s trajectory through Spain, Portugal and France at 9. Five people have been killed in France, three on the Spanish mainland and a 10-year-old boy in Portugal. The Canaries thankfully suffered no significant damage from being touched by the edge of this storm. All alerts have now been lifted.  BBC, C24H

Update 27 February 11am: The worst seems to have passed over the Canaries now, though the Red Alert will remain in place throughout the peaks, and the Vilaflor and La Orotava areas. Tomorrow, those areas reduce to Orange Alert, and the rest of the island will not be under alert. Last night was very wild night indeed.  Aemet

A 44-year-old foreigner dropped dead in the La Tejita car park in El Médano late on Wednesday night. Emergency services were called just before 11pm with reports that a man had collapsed and was not responding to stimuli, and required immediate attention. On arrival, medics found the poor man in cardiac arrest, but despite concerted attempts to resuscitate him, they could do nothing to save his life and he was pronounced dead at the scene.  El Dia

The Los Gigantes forum is naming this poor man as British Los Gigantes resident Tony Fordham. His funeral will be on Tuesday March 2nd at 11am at Los Gigantes church followed by a reception at Tipsy Terrace. It appears that there are to be no flowers by request, instead contributions towards the cost of the funeral will be welcome. Donations will be accepted by Kelly and staff at Offshore 44 or Jo and staff at the Green Corner.