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Date Published: 13/12/2021

ARCHIVED - Tsunami risk in Andalusia and the Canary Islands

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

The experts believe a huge tidal wave could wash over much of southern Spain

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Tsunami risk in Andalusia and the Canary Islands

It’s been a rather turbulent couple of years in Spain, between the obvious impact of the coronavirus pandemic along with natural phenomena such as storm Filomena and the eruption of the La Palma volcano. Last month there were rumours that all of Europe may be in store for a major electrical blackout which resulted in panic buying throughout of Spain, and now the experts are warning that another disaster might be just over the horizon: tsunamis up to eight metres high in western Andalucía and the Canary Islands.

The experts revealed in August that the risk of tsunamis was higher than expected and so the Government aims to develop the State Plan for Civil Protection against Tsunami Risk next year, which will mean the implementation of a bespoke warning system.

The initiative will be based on a “unique” mechanism capable of detecting the development of tsunamis which threaten the Spanish coast early, thus allowing the Civil Protection to alert citizens to the danger as quickly as possible.

Spain has 7,660 kilometres of stunning coastline, which is home to 58% of the overall population – around 23 million people. While the tidal waves wouldn’t have the same impact everywhere, the Plan has established that Andalucía and the Canary Islands are at the most risk, with a tsunami taking around 55 minutes to reach the Andalucían coast and just over an hour to reach the Canaries. This makes early detection essential.

According to the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), the Averroes fault, located in the Alboran Sea, could cause a massive tsunami which would affect all of Spain.

The fault is located between the Iberian peninsula and Africa, a continent that shifts about four millimetres each year, a movement that could lead to a tsunami of enormous magnitude: the experts believe, in this scenario, waves reaching six metres could batter Spain, submerging the southern coast and even flooding cities such as Malaga, Granada and Cadiz.

Image: Archive

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