‘A Calima came in dangerous winds – hot ones – it was scary’ – David Webster
IN the aftermath of activating Municipal Emergency Plan (PEMU) following the adverse weather in the Canary Islands – that led to the temporary postponement of the Santa Cruz Carnival Tenerife – resident David Webster told The Leader: “A Calima came in dangerous winds – hot ones – with flights delayed or cancelled – it was scary.”
David, in the middle of the sandstorm that hit over the weekend, added: “I did not sleep all night. The Carnival, the biggest outside Rio, takes millions of euros to stage and to cancel it was unfortunate.
“The sandstorm was bad around coast – the airport was like a fog – lights on the runway were the brightest I have ever seen.”
Aena closed all airports in the Canary Islands to inbound flights, due to the calima and visibility at the height of the storms, with some flights diverted to Portugal.
Ryanair and Jet2 were amongst flights to TFS cancelled. Passengers were left sitting on a plane – after being told there was a four hour delay – then informed it was cancelled.
The City Council of Santa Cruz de Tenerife informed Tenerife’s fire brigades destined for the carnival of the capital of Tenerife to divert to cover the emergency in the north of the island.
The Local Police made available to the City Council of Santa Úrsula a subgroup of the Unipol, with 16 agents activated.
The mayor of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Patricia Hernández, and the Councillor for Public Safety, Road and Mobility, Florentino Guzmán, met at the headquarters of the Municipal Operational Municipal Coordination Center (Cecopal) and said that all the effort will be put in collaborating with the municipalities affected by the fires in the north of the island, guaranteeing the safety of Santa Cruz.
