Delta causes havoc in Canaries

Tropical Storm Delta unleashed torrential rain and strong winds on the Canary Islands today, knocking out power, disrupting phone communications and stranding hundreds of people at the islands’ main airports.

One 63-year-old man died while trying to repair his roof in Fuerteventura, an island in the Spanish Atlantic archipelago, regional government official Jose Miguel Ruano said.

Television showed images of mudslides, toppled walls and downed trees across the islands – which are among Europe’s top tourist destinations.

About 200,000 people were without electricity in the main cities of Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and La Laguna, Ruano said. Regional authorities said power cuts had affected the islands of Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and La Palma, as well as Tenerife.

Airports were forced to impose flight delays as the storm approached, through traffic was back to normal by this afternoon, said a spokeswoman for Tenerife North airport, which was operating on emergency generator power.

Power cuts affected mobile-phone coverage, and fallen cables damaged fixed-line telephone communications.

Technicians were struggling to restore power to Tenerife, where storm winds brought down five towers holding high-tension cables and damaged eight others.

“We are concerned that electricity should be restored before nightfall,” Ruano said, adding that repair equipment was being brought by a military transport plane from Spain to the islands.

Yesterday, at least six would-be immigrants died when their boat with 50 people on board sank while trying to reach the Canary Islands from Africa. Some 32 were rescued, and 12 were reported missing.

Schools called off classes today as Delta approached.

The storm was expected to weaken on its way to northwestern Africa, reaching Morocco’s southern coast later today.

The six-month Atlantic hurricane season officially ends tomorrow, but forecasters warned that tropical storms and hurricanes could develop in December.