Lanzarote Floods Costa Teguise – State of Emergency Declared

A severe flash flooding event struck Lanzarote on the weekend of April 12-13, 2025, with Costa Teguise and Arrecife bearing the worst of the damage. Emergency services responded to more than 300 incidents as torrential rain overwhelmed the island’s drainage systems.

The flooding caught many by surprise. Authorities had activated only a pre-alert phase hours before the downpour, and the intensity of the rainfall rapidly exceeded what infrastructure was designed to handle. For residents and tourists alike, the hours that followed brought chaos, road closures, and significant property damage.

By the morning of Sunday, April 13, an island-wide state of emergency had been declared. Recovery operations continued into the following week, with three hotels in Costa Teguise remaining closed as of April 16. No injuries were reported, but the scale of the disruption prompted travel alerts from the UK Foreign Office.

Floods in Lanzarote today and yesterday: Latest updates

The flooding that hit Lanzarote on April 12-13, 2025 was not a slow-building weather event. It arrived fast and with force. In just two hours, 6 cm of rain fell across the island, with peak intensity recorded between 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM on Saturday afternoon. Some areas saw rainfall totals that exceeded what is typical for an entire month.

Emergency crews faced an extraordinary workload. Reports from local media, cited by BBC News, indicated that more than 150 incidents were recorded in Costa Teguise alone on the evening of April 12, with a further 70 in Arrecife. Across the island, the total exceeded 300 callouts.

Key figures at a glance

• Costa Teguise recorded 152 emergency incidents on the evening of April 12.
• Arrecife reported more than 70 separate incidents, with 95 homes and businesses damaged.
• Rainfall reached 47 mm or more in just a few hours — exceeding typical monthly averages for the region.
• A state of emergency was declared island-wide on April 13.
• Three hotels near Las Cucharas Shopping Centre in Costa Teguise closed in the aftermath.
• Travel alerts were issued by UK travel trade media and the Foreign Office.
• No injuries were reported by Spanish authorities or international news outlets.

Rainfall and impact by location

Affected areas: Costa Teguise, Puerto del Carmen, and Playa Blanca

The flooding did not affect all parts of Lanzarote equally. The worst damage was concentrated in the island’s main tourist corridors, where rapid runoff from saturated ground and paved surfaces turned streets into rivers.

Costa Teguise floods 2025

Costa Teguise was the most severely impacted area. With 152 emergency calls logged on Saturday evening, the resort town saw roads submerged, basements flooded, and mud left thick across large zones. The Gazettelife reported that three hotels in a small zone near Las Cucharas Shopping Centre were forced to close in the days that followed. Many other properties suffered water damage, and some lost power during the peak of the storm.

Lanzarote floods Puerto del Carmen

Puerto del Carmen, another major tourist hub, also experienced flooding, though the full extent of damage there remains less documented in official reports. Local media and social media accounts indicated that streets and ground-floor premises were affected, but specific incident numbers for this area have not been confirmed by authorities.

Lanzarote floods Playa Blanca

Playa Blanca, at the southern tip of the island, saw some flooding, but appears to have escaped the worst of the damage. No figures for emergency callouts in Playa Blanca have been published by local sources. The available evidence suggests the impact there was comparatively limited, though travellers should check current conditions before visiting.

Lanzarote floods in 2025 and 2026: What to expect

The April 2025 event is now the reference point for flood risk on the island. Lanzarote has a semi-arid climate, and heavy rain events are relatively rare. When they do occur, the dry, compacted ground and extensive paved surfaces in urban areas can generate flash flooding very quickly.

Lanzarote floods 2025

Rainfall measurements collected from across the affected zones show just how exceptional this event was. In Tahiche, more than 100 litres per square metre fell. Parts of Teguise recorded over 90 litres. Central Costa Teguise, Las Cucharas beach, and Altavista each saw around 62 litres, while Arrecife’s Calle Tenderete measured 61 litres. The Spanish State Meteorological Agency, AEMET, had issued pre-alert warnings, but the scale of the downpour exceeded expectations.

Lanzarote floods 2026 today

Looking ahead to 2026, no specific forecasts or warnings have been issued for Lanzarote at the time of writing. The April 2025 event has, however, highlighted the vulnerability of the island’s infrastructure to sudden, intense rainfall. Whether similar storms will occur in 2026 cannot be predicted with certainty, but climate patterns in the Canary Islands have shown increasing variability in recent years. For context on how other severe weather and emergency incidents have been covered, see the report on Helicopter Crash Isle of Wight – What We Know So Far.

BBC coverage of the Lanzarote floods

The BBC reported on the floods on April 13, 2025, in an article titled “Severe floods hit Lanzarote after torrential rain.” The piece cited local media reports and provided figures of more than 150 incidents in Costa Teguise and over 70 in Arrecife. The BBC’s coverage remains one of the most authoritative English-language sources on the event, though it did not include travel advice or hotel closure details.

Other outlets filled that gap. Travel Weekly published a travel alert on April 14, emphasising the disruption to tourism. The Gazettelife article of April 16 focused specifically on the three hotel closures in Costa Teguise. Together, these three sources — BBC, Travel Weekly, and Gazettelife — provide the most complete publicly available picture of the event.

Timeline of the Lanzarote flood event

The sequence of events unfolded rapidly over four days, from the first torrential rain to the closure of hotels and the continuation of recovery work.

1. 12 April 2025 (evening): Torrential rain causes flash flooding in Costa Teguise and surrounding areas. Emergency services attend 152 incidents in Costa Teguise and more than 70 in Arrecife.
2. 13 April 2025: A state of emergency is declared island-wide. The BBC reports “severe floods hit Lanzarote.” Local media confirm that Tahiche, Guatiza, and Nazaret were also affected.
3. 14 April 2025: Travel Weekly issues a travel alert. Rainfall figures of 47 mm in a few hours are confirmed by social media reports, with some areas seeing around 60 litres per square metre.
4. 16 April 2025: Gazettelife reports that three hotels in Costa Teguise near Las Cucharas Shopping Centre have been closed. Recovery and cleanup operations continue across the island.

The initial emergency was lifted at 7:00 AM on Sunday, April 14, but the Cabildo (island council) maintained an extended emergency status due to the complexity of recovery works. Further alerts remained in effect until Tuesday, April 15, with additional storms predicted in northeastern areas and wind warnings for both the north and south coasts.

What is known and what remains unclear about the Lanzarote floods

While a significant amount of information has been confirmed by official sources and media reports, several aspects of the event remain uncertain.

Why the Lanzarote floods caused such widespread damage

Lanzarote’s landscape is semi-arid. The ground is often dry and hard, which means that when heavy rain arrives, much of the water runs off the surface rather than soaking in. In built-up areas like Costa Teguise and Arrecife, the effect is magnified by roads, pavements, and buildings that prevent natural drainage. The April 2025 storm delivered close to — and in some places exceeded — the average monthly rainfall in just a few hours.

The speed of the downpour was a critical factor. Drainage systems across the island are designed for gradual precipitation, not the kind of intense, short-durst rainfall that occurred. Roads quickly became channels for fast-moving water, and underpasses were submerged. The LZ-20 bridge to San Bartolomé was completely waterlogged and closed. Mud accumulation after the waters receded added another layer of difficulty to the cleanup.

The implications for tourism are significant. Costa Teguise is one of Lanzarote’s primary resort destinations, and disruptions to hotels, power supplies, and road access can affect booking patterns. The state of emergency allowed the Cabildo to mobilise resources more quickly, but full recovery was expected to take time.

What official sources have reported about the Lanzarote floods

Several authoritative sources have provided verified information about the event. Their reports are consistent on the key numbers and the severity of the flooding.

“Emergency services attended more than 150 incidents in Costa Teguise and in excess of 70 in Arrecife, local media reports.”

— BBC News, 13 April 2025

“Emergency services were called to 152 incidents in Costa Teguise on Saturday evening, and a further 70 in Arrecife, according to local media.”

— Travel Weekly, 14 April 2025

“Saturday’s floods in Costa Teguise have led to the closure of three hotels, all located in a fairly small zone near Las Cucharas Shopping Centre.”

— Gazettelife, 16 April 2025

A Facebook post from the Weather2019 page also noted that Tahiche, Costa Teguise, Guatiza, and Nazaret were badly affected, with some areas reportedly seeing around 60 litres of water. That figure aligns broadly with the measurements of 62 litres recorded in central Costa Teguise and 61 litres in Arrecife’s Calle Tenderete, though the Facebook source is not an official meteorological authority.

Key takeaway from the Lanzarote flood event

The April 2025 floods in Lanzarote were a stark reminder of how quickly severe weather can disrupt a tourism-dependent island. With more than 300 emergency incidents, three hotel closures, and damage to nearly 100 homes and businesses in Arrecife alone, the event ranks among the most significant flooding episodes in the island’s recent history. No injuries were reported, but the economic impact on local businesses and the travel sector is still unfolding. Visitors planning trips to Lanzarote should check current conditions and follow local authority guidance.