Island Vulnerability
http://www.islandvulnerability.org/canarias.html
Canary Islands 
Island Vulnerability
explores the challenges which isolated geographies face when dealing
with risk and disasters by examining the processes which create,
maintain, and could be used to reduce their vulnerability. This page
provides information on vulnerability issues in the Canary Islands:
Waves crashing against the lava cliffs of Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife.
(Copyright Ilan Kelman 2004.)
This page provides
information specifically related to vulnerability (including risk,
disasters, and sustainability), rather than general information such as
travel details, a country profile, all government websites, or history.
The information provided is not intended to be comprehensive, but is
indicative of the vulnerabilities which the Canary Islands experience
and how sustainable solutions might be developed and implemented. The
publications listed reflect those in the library of Island Vulnerability.
Some Events
(With thanks to Liz Hume.)
circa 520 BC Teide on Tenerife erupts from Pico Viejo.
circa 80 BC Teide on Tenerife erupts from Montana Branca and Pico Viejo.
circa 40 AD Teide on Tenerife erupts from Pico Viejo.
950 AD Teide on Tenerife erupts from west of Pico Viejo.
1341 Teide on Tenerife erupts from Pico del Teide.
circa 1393-6 Teide on Tenerife erupts from Pico del Teide.
1430 Teide on Tenerife erupts from the Lower Orotava Valley.
1444 Teide on Tenerife erupts from Pico del Teide.
1492 Teide on Tenerife erupts from north-west flank of Pico del Teide.
31 December 1704 – 27 March 1705 Teide on Tenerife erupts from northwest flank, affecting Siete Fuentes, Fasnia, and Guimar.
5 May –
13 June 1706 Half of Garachico village and all of its harbour is
destroyed when Teide on Tenerife erupts from its northwest flank.
Montana Negra is also affected.
9 June – 14 September 1798 Teide on Tenerife erupts from southwest flank.
18
November – 27 November 1909 Damage to land and property when Teide on
Tenerife erupts from its northwest flank at the Chinyero volcano.
January 1957 Windstorm kills 26 people on Tenerife.
3 December 1972 Airplane crash on Tenerife kills 155 people when the pilot loses control on take-off.
27 March 1977 Two 747s collide on a Tenerife runway killing 562 or 583 people (depending on the source) and injuring between 60 and 64 people (depending on the source).
25 April 1980 Airplane crash kills 146 people when their plane crashes into a mountain approaching Tenerife.
18 January 1999 Windstorm causes extensive damage on Tenerife, killing at least four people.
26 July 1999 Up to 13 illegal immigrants drown off the coast of Fuerteventura after their boat capsizes.
22 November 2001 Floods across the Canary Islands kill at least 7 people and affect several hundred.
31 March 2002 Flash floods on Tenerife kill at least 5 people and possibly as many as 8.
December 2003 to August 2004 At least 68 illegal immigrants drown off the coast of Fuerteventura trying to reach the Canaries.
Mid-May 2004 Five successive low-intensity earthquakes in the area between Mount Teide and Santiago del Teide.
November
2004 Millions of locusts swarm over Fuerteventura, although they are
near the end of their life cycle. 1,500 litres of
insecticide are sprayed over Lanzarote to prevent a similar invasion,
although that action could lead to a worse disaster than the locusts
through health and environmental impacts.
23
December 2004 At least 13 African immigrants die of hypothermia trying
to reach the Canary Islands in a boat. About 30 survive.
Mount Teide above the clouds, which has erupted frequently in recent centuries and aeons.
(Copyright Ilan Kelman 2004.)
Research: Emergency Planning for Tourists on Tenerife
By Katherine Donovan
Department of Earth Sciences, University College London
Download full text (2.7 MB in pdf).
Abstract
The 2004 Sumatran
tsunami was a global catastrophe. Even countries that were not directly
affected by the tsunami counted the casualties amongst their nationals
who were visiting the affected regions. This global catastrophe
emphasised the need for effective disaster management and planning and
it also emphasised the necessity to incorporate the tourist within
these plans and procedures. This project was therefore inspired by the
2004 tsunami. It investigates the current role tourists play in
disaster management and to produce a set of factors which can be used
as a guide to incorporate this vulnerable sector of society into
emergency plans with particular reference to volcanic regions.
An extensive literature
review concluded that there are three stages to emergency planning:
proactive; real time; and post activity. Within these stages 14 main
factors were identified by the researcher as vital in incorporating
tourists into emergency planning. These factors were then assessed in
the field. The field work for this project was carried out in Tenerife,
one of seven volcanic islands of the Canary Islands situated in the
Atlantic ocean of the coast off North Africa. This island was chosen as
a field work site due to its popularity as a tourist destination with
an annual visitor number of over 5 million. The International
Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior
(IAVCEI) categorised the islands summit volcano, Teide, as one of the
highest risk in the world, due to it active eruptive history and the
high population density in close proximity.
The field work consisted
of interviews and questionnaires designed for the main stakeholders.
Following their completion the results found that the proactive
management factors produced during the literature review were valid and
robust.
Certain issues became
apparent during the investigation. The first being the issue of
responsibility and second a fear of discouraging tourists from a
destination. The project concluded that a set a 14 simple factors could
assist the incorporation of tourist into disaster plans. In addition
this project found that Tenerife’s current emergency management and
plans are highly unsatisfactory. In order to avoid a major catastrophe
these plans must be developed, practised and put into use.
Tourists queuing for the cable car up to Teide's summit.
(Copyright Ilan Kelman 2004.)
Commentaries
Commentary by Delioma Oramas Dorta from Tenerife on 25 October 2004:
A Jewel in the Ocean
At a
crossroads of continents and cultures, Tenerife has historically been
exposed to the ups and downs inflicted by the changing times, not
always easy to absorb due to its islandness, an endemic "condition"
whose effects can be generally described with the concept of "island
vulnerability".
Once
upon a time the peak of the lost Atlantis, its legacy is a vast natural
richness consisting of endemic species intertwined into unique
ecosystems across its numerous climatic strata, from sea level up to
its glorious 3,716 metres of altitude. This fragile natural treasure,
however, has been constantly threatened by several factors, such as
infrastructure development and subsequent habitat fragmentation,
despite the designation of numerous parts of the island as protected
areas and the national park of "Las Cañadas".
A
not-so-well managed service-oriented economy has put pressures on
Tenerife's small territory, in the form of extended dwelling surfaces,
commercial and leisure centres (including golf courses, which
contribute to depletion of existing water reservoirs), and a complex
road network which has eaten up the traditional rural land, where a
rich variety of fruits, vegetables and flowers from all over the world
thrives, thanks to the more than hundred microclimates existing on the
island. This "vega" of typical products forms the basis of the
fantastic "Tenerifean" cuisine, one prominent ingredient of the
colouristic folklore of the island, which also expresses the character
and qualities of its people through music, dance, and stories.
Tenerife's
culture has long been influenced and enriched by Latin America as a
result of trading products, people, language, and ways of life. The
first inhabitants of the island, the Guanches, also relegated to us a
particular world composed of archaeological treasures, including
mummified bodies, and an almost-lost language which still resonates in
our personal names, place names, and legends.
All
this natural and cultural richness, though, has in many instances
become secondary to the tastes of a low-quality "beach and sun
tourism", which has led to crowding of the island and degradation of
the coastal zone.
Tenerife's
rich natural and socio-cultural elements are thus vulnerable to foreign
influences, but above all, are susceptible to the attitude of us
locals, when we don't fairly value our countless resources, which
should be protected and respected above all. Promoting them, as well as
strict enforcement of regulations that avoid their degradation, should
be the basis for sustainable development of the island. Promoting rural
tourism focused on the environment--such as trekking, climbing,
astronomy, and sea-sports--as well as on local gastronomy, history, and
culture, is an alternative to the current status. This requires
effective and proper marketing, as well as targeting those social
groups who hold adequate values and who are capable of respectfully
enjoying what is offered. Neighbouring islands, such as La Palma and El
Hierro, are successfully leading the way, attracting mainly
medium-to-upper class, young, German tourists.
One
other aspect of Tenerife's vulnerability is its well-known volcanic
nature. Until recently, the quietness of natural forces acting on the
island have stopped people from perceiving Teide as an imminent threat.
In contrast, we have harmoniously lived in its presence, which is one
source of our pride. Over the past few months, however, several small
earthquakes have made people aware and fearful of the possible
consequences of a significant volcanic event. Close monitoring of
volcanic and seismic activity and implementation of effective
evacuation plans would be the most adequate approach to handle such an
event.
From
my perspective and my people's, Tenerife is a jewel in the middle of
the ocean, a vulnerable jewel that deserves our care, respect, and
attention.
Part of the aqueduct system supplying parts of Tenerife with fresh water.
(Copyright Ilan Kelman 2004.)
Commentary by Liz Hume on 13 January 2005:
Managing with Teide, not Managing Teide
Mount
Teide on Tenerife seems to have erupted about once every one hundred
years for the period for which we have reliable records. The last one
was in 1909. Thus, we might be due for another one soon. Typical signs
of impending volcanic activity are small earthquakes, possibly for up
to eighteen months before the eruption, and earthquakes occurred on
Tenerife in spring 2004.
What is being done, and what should be done, about the potential threat from the volcano? Should we be doing anything?
The latter
is, perhaps, the most fundamental question. What should we make of the
fact that the greatest threat to people in the Canaries seems not to be
their potentially volatile natural surroundings, but human-induced
hazards? Do we over-react to environmental events when we are quite
capable of causing equally, if not more, devastating events? Should we
be diverting resources to stopping environmental events, which the
world has survived with since it began, before we can fully control our
own inventions and constructions--which we, therefore, presumably
understand, or should understand, better than the mysterious workings
of the earth?
I think
the answer must be 'yes'. As long as the community wishes it, we should
work towards protecting what the community affected deems to be
important from both environmental and human-induced events. We should
devote research and application resources to both. If the community
wants particular things to be protected, why make car travel perfectly
safe if a volcanic eruption will destroy all we care about?
But are we doing enough to deal with environmental events?
Cars and
planes (and basically any potentially dangerous human product) are
frequently analysed and attempts are made to make them safer. Do we put
similar effort into environmental events, in this instance Tenerife's
volcano? I would suggest possibly not, at least not on a widespread
level.
With the
natural environment, many people seem to have an almost irrational fear
of the unknown, of something that we cannot control. Efforts have been
concentrated not so much on actually providing measures to mitigate the
effects of the disasters so much as on understanding why they occur. It
would be like analysing a car crash and establishing that it occurred
because the road was slippery, and then setting out to monitor the
slipperiness of the road, rather than doing anything proactive to stop
people being as badly injured next time, such as driving appropriately
for the road and weather conditions. Understanding the event is
important, but alongside that must go a strong emphasis on protecting
the community.
We will
never be able to stop environmental events. We can be prepared for them
and have measures in place to prevent and mitigate impacts. This
sentence introduces a second aspect of research necessary for reducing
the potential impact of disasters: the social, psychological and
historical contexts. Analyses of personal and community reactions to
the volcano and its potential effects would help to determine which
sites and objects should be highest priority.
In 1845-50, Madoz, the author of the Geographical Dictionary – Estadis,
recorded an account of the 1706 eruption of Mount Teide that destroyed
Garachico. He records that 'an earthquake had been felt during the
night'. After the eruption, 'an inflamed torrent went out of many
volcano cones, onto the village of El Tanque, ignited the church and
several houses.' It then 'destroyed the causeway and the vineyards of
the surroundings.' Around 9 pm, 'another current…fell on the villa in
seven different places. The grisly overflow of lava made to withdraw
the sea from the bank and destroyed the port.'
The author
of a Belgian website accessed in August 2004 but now offline records
some of his and his family's experience of the volcano on their home
island of Tenerife. In response to the question 'how do you live with
the idea of a possible volcanic eruption?', he identifies two elements
that contribute towards inhabitants' acceptance of the risk:
1. There is no weekly schedule for the eruptions. Some Canary Islands
have not been hit for centuries and, when they are, there tend not to
be many human casualties as there is usually enough warning for people
to retreat to a safe distance.
2. They simply know the volcano is there: 'I grew up hearing my grandma
telling how she had to escape from her home during the 1909 eruption.'
The volcano has become a 'companion' for the island's inhabitants.
Locally, it is referred to affectionately and respectfully as 'Old
Father Teide.'
Such
descriptions help to bring the volcano to life far more than dry
scientific analysis ever can. This kind of information is needed to
assess the true impact of a volcano on its community. Given simple
figures of the havoc a volcano may wreak on its surroundings, it might
be difficult to understand why people might choose to live in the
shadow of a volcano. It could be harder to understand why people might
choose to rebuild their homes on a site where buildings and the
potential for wealth were destroyed by the last volcanic eruption. Yet
the inhabitants of Garachico did rebuild in the same place after the
1706 eruption. Those of us living a safe distance away from a volcano
may struggle to realise the attraction of such a place.
Attempting
to understand is essential if we are to deal sensitively with the place
and people affected by a potential or actual disaster. At the very
least, we should accept that factors exist which we do not fully
comprehend. We should accept the need to consult the community about
their feelings and desires rather than assuming they have the same
priorities as we do. The reason for trying to monitor potential
disasters and to develop ways of averting impacts is, presumably, to
benefit the local and wider communities. How are we benefiting these
communities if we don't listen to them, don't understand their
heritage, and don't ask what is important to them?
For the
people of Tenerife, it seems that the volcano is simply a part of their
lives in the same way that cars and aeroplanes are part of many other
people's lives. The threat from the volcano might even be no higher
than from human contraptions.
People
choose to, and often enjoy, driving cars and travelling by aeroplane
despite the risks. Might the people of Tenerife enjoy living on their
island and having their relationship with the volcano? Might their
respect for it inhibit a desire to see it tamed (especially when
efforts to tame it are likely to fail)? We often assume that the first
priority is towards keeping humans, and their constructions, unharmed,
but is this necessarily the case? Might a desire exist to let nature
take its course?
My
questions are not aimed at encouraging a purely passive or fatalistic
attitude without any attempt being made to stop a volcanic disaster.
That the people of Tenerife want at least some things to be protected
is evidenced by their removal in 1704 of the statue of the Island's
patroness from harm's way. Rather, my questions are aimed at
encouraging people to question their natural assumptions about what is
for the best. We might assume that it is for the best that schools and
hospitals be protected, but the people of Tenerife may disagree. They
may feel that for such utilitarian sites, nature should be allowed to
take its course. There might, however, be a different attitude towards
objects of historical and/or psychological importance to the community.
Those sites may be worthy of protection.
I should
stress that I have not interviewed people from Tenerife. These views
are based on ideas drawn from the extracts quoted above. It may be
that, on analysing the historical, social, and psychological contexts,
the solutions desired would be the ones considered prior to local
consultation. But they might not be. Research and consultation should
be carried out before spending vast amounts of money on something the
community could quite happily have lived without.
Residents of the municipio of Icod de los Vinos, Tenerife.
(Copyright Ilan Kelman 2004.)
Some Resources in English
ATAN
Asociación Tinerfeña de Amigos de la Naturaleza.
"An ecological association that was founded in 1972 to defend the
Canary Islands' unique environment and culture. We currently operate a
web site featuring hundreds of articles on the wholesale destruction of
the archipelago."
Global Volcanism Programme's entry for the Canary Islands.
Jimenez, M.J. and M. Garcia-Fernandez. 1996. "Aftershock Sequence of the 9 May 1989 Canary Islands Earthquake". Tectonophysics, vol. 255, no. 1 (20 April), pp. 157-162.
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 2000. Special Issue on the Geology and Geophysics of Tenerife, vol. 103, issues 1-4 (20 December).
Ward, S.N. and S. Day.
2001 (September 1). "Cumbre Vieja Volcano -- Potential Collapse and
Tsunami at La Palma, Canary Islands". Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 28, no. 17, pp. 3397-3400.
Sunset on the north shore of Tenerife.
(Copyright Ilan Kelman 2004.)
Contact Island Vulnerability.
The material on the
Island Vulnerability website is provided as only an information source.
Neither definitive advice nor recommendations are implied. Each person
or organisation accessing the website is responsible for making their
own assessment of the topics discussed and are strongly advised to
verify all information. No liability will be accepted for loss or
damage incurred as a result of using the material on this website. The
appearance of external links on this website does not constitute
endorsement of the organisations, information, products, or services
contained on that external website.
|
