ANDRIA HALL, CNN ANCHOR: A powerful winter storm in Spain is forcing tourists and residents in the Canary Islands to evacuate. Torrential rain is flooding the popular vacation spot, while heavy snow is causing pandemonium on the mainland. We get more now on this story from Ben Jones.</s>BEN JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on phone): Floods triggered by freak heavy rains have hit the Spanish Canary Islands, a popular winter holiday destination for Europeans located in the Atlantic Ocean, blocking roads and trapping many people in their homes. The floodwaters turned streams into cascading rivers, sweeping away automobiles. At the same time, tourists, who travel to the Canary Islands for their sun and subtropical climate had to be evacuated from their hotels near the city of Tenerife, when floodwaters reached the lower levels of buildings. There were no reported injuries from the severe weather, but local press reports said the storms may have caused as much as 10 billion pesetas, or $60 million in damages. Meanwhile, on the Spanish mainland, temperatures plunged to near freezing and snow fell across much of the country, causing chaos for the hundreds of thousands of people returning home at the end of the long Christmas holidays. Heavy fog is also snarling traffic, and more snow is predicted for many regions today and tomorrow. Ben Jones for CNN, in Madrid, Spain.
Powerful Storm Forces People to Evacuate Canary Islands