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Brit holidaymakers warned as Canary Island plunges underwater and mud flushes away cars

Holiday hotspot Gran Canaria is on red alert as a massive storm causes chaos and devastating floods across the island of Gran Canaria, with cars being washed out to sea

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Flooding has become a desperate situation in Gran Canaria(Image: @X)

Gran Canaria, a popular holiday destination for Brits, has been hit by catastrophic floods, with vehicles getting swept into the ocean. Tourists have been advised to remain indoors as rising floodwaters create a significant threat throughout the island, famed for its pristine sandy beaches.

The floods have battered the island's roughly 850,000 inhabitants which is around 40% of the entire Canary Islands' population. Streets have been caked in mudslides and cars being carried away under bridges. Shocking images circulating on social media capture torrents of muddy water violently coursing through Gran Canaria, which boasts a rural and mountainous terrain.

Water from higher elevations has cascaded down to more populous areas, including southern regions that are tourist hotspots. One chilling video captures a vehicle being forcefully washed dozens of meters into the sea amid heavy rainfall

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Roads have been swamped(Image: @X)

In another harrowing scene, a car gets engulfed by the rapid current, only to be swept away down the road, disappearing from sight.

As the downpour wreaked havoc over the weekend, authorities declared a state of "pre-alert" throughout the Canary Islands on Saturday, March 1. Come Monday, Aemet, Spain's national meteorological service, elevated the warning to a red alert for Gran Canaria, with predictions of inclement weather persisting into the week.

Cars were yanked into the ocean as fierce floods wreaked havoc, with some vehicles ending up vertical, stuck, or completely wrecked. Street bollards clanged and bins got swept away by the torrential waters.

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People have been told to stay indoors(Image: Ayun_Telde/X)

The Las Bachilleras ravine became a graveyard for numerous cars caught in the deluge. A massive clean-up effort kicked off, with locals and firefighters grabbing shovels and brushes to tackle the mud-caked streets and homes in Salinetas, a neighbourhood in Telde that took a serious beating.

But it's not over yet Canaria Weekly reports that emergency services are still on "high alert". Authorities are urging everyone, including holidaymakers, to steer clear of non-essential travel.

Over in Tenerife, a recent flood trapped at least 80 folks inside a supermarket. Meanwhile, Valencia on the mainland is bracing itself under a red alert, with schools shut down across the region as a safety measure.

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