Flood water and thick mud flow through Lanzarote streets as state of emergency declared

Roads have become muddy rivers in Lanzarote on Monday, 14 April, after torrential rainfall over the Spanish Canary Island.

A state of emergency was declared on the popular tourist destination after 6 cm (2.4 inches) of rain fell in two hours on Saturday, emergency services said.

Some homes were submerged, Enrique Espinosa, head of emergency services for the Lanzarote government, said.

"We have been working all night, attending 300 calls overnight, many of them in Arrecife and Teguise," Espinosa told RTVE state television on Sunday.

One holidaymaker told The Independent: "I have never seen anything like this before and I have been coming here for years, it is absolutely bizarre."