Massive rockfall and landslide near Valle Gran Rey

There was a major rockfall and landslide in the cliff of Teguergenche mountain towering over the harbour of Vueltas. The incident happened this afternoon and the unsurfaced access road to both the Argaga ravine (where the 'Fruit Garden' is located) and the resort of 'Finca Argayall' has been blocked by countless tons of debris. Some camper vans parked there narrowly escaped destruction. Three rescue helicopters were searching for signs of anyone trapped, but up to now there are no reports of any casualties. The video shows a huge plume of dust and even waves caused by the massive amount of rocks falling into Valle Gran Rey's harbour of Vueltas. A couple of diggers are on stand-by near the scene and the tough work of reopening the access road will begin as soon as it is deemed safe to do so. (Above video source: Esteban Perez)

UPDATE:

The Canarian government has activated the ''territorial emergency plan'' and additional teams from civil defence, Red Cross, police, etc., as well as search dogs have been sent to La Gomera from Tenerife and Gran Canaria.

The harbour beach in Vueltas has been closed.

Update Sunday night:

There seem to be no casualties after extensive searches by rescue teams with sniffer dogs did not find any traces. Thankfully there are no reports of missing persons, and the search teams have returned home. Specialist engineers have arrived in Valle Gran Rey who will assess the stability of the cliff and the debris before any work to clear debris can begin. In the meantime the area will be serviced by boat. The beach in Vueltas will remain closed temporarily.

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The administration of Vallehermoso, under whose jurisdiction the affected area falls, has announced that the access road to Argaga and Finca Argayall is to remain closed permanently and will now be given up as it has become too unstable and dangerous. This decision was taken in agreement with all the other relevant authorities. Geologists from INVOLCAN have spotted more cracks and splits in the face of the cliff that will probably lead to further rock material breaking off. In fact, locals are well aware of these cracks and the erosion of this mountain has been ongoing for millenia. The whole of La Gomera presents an erosion landscape.

There is now a proposal to rapidly build a small pier to service the area and this project has the support of La Gomera's government.

More information about the track to Argaga, with frightening stories of near misses and fatal rock falls can be found here... Read more...

                                                                    Image source: gomeraverde.es

View of the fallen material from one of the helicopters. Note the new coastline and the camper vans on right.

Roads during poor weather

Minor road blocked by fallen rocks yesterday (Image: gomeranotias.com)

Main (and the only) road to Valle Gran Rey near Arure tunnel yesterday. (Source: Gov. La Gomera)
All roads are clear now, but bear in mind that rocks may fall AFTER bad weather when the sun heats the material !

Huge rocks smash funeral home

The largest of the lumps of rock that hit the funeral parlour (All images in this post © gomeratoday.com)

Dying is a life-threatening experience, as they say, but thankfully there were neither corpses nor mourners in the public funeral parlour (=tanatorio) of Guada in the upper part of Valle Gran Rey, La Gomera, when a few huge lumps of rock broke loose in the mountainside above it and tumbled down into the back of the building just after 11am this morning, causing severe structural damage. The facility had been constructed only a few years ago - in the wrong spot, apparently.

There was some light to moderate rain during the night before and now you know why I often give you a warning that it can be just as dangerous near mountains AFTER some moderate rain as it is during a heavy downpour. 
Anyway, you can rest assured that dying here in La Gomera is not a problem. Uniquely on this island the local government guarantees a free funeral, including wreaths and a state of the art hearse, to anyone who happens to die here. 

May I recommend the Guada funeral home, once repaired, to members of the poor old Rock band called 'The Rolling Stones', should any of them ever decide to call it a day ? 

The Roman proverb: ''All things are cause for either laughter or weeping.'' is my excuse for the above comments, but these images (© Gomeratoday) are indeed humbling:

So much for the saying 'Back door visitors are best friends' - They missed the f...ing door coming in !

Track of the rockfall (red)

Rains force road closures

The steep and winding scenic road through 'EL Rejo' valley

Today's abundant rains have caused some traffic disruption in La Gomera. Apart from minor debris on the roads there was a larger landslide affecting the scenic 'El Rejo' road which connects the main north road and the main west road through the national park. This landslide is said to be not as significant as previous ones, but has forced the closure of this road past the volcanic cone of the same name. The road will be closed until further notice, pending the clearance of debris and a detailed inspection. For locals and visitors normally using this short-cut the closure means very long detours.

In San Sebastian the road past the main beach to the harbour called 'Avenida Maritima' is temporarily closed until flooding caused by heavy rain has subsided, which is expected to happen soon.

There were also flight delays at La Gomera's airport due to the rain and poor visibility.

UPDATE Thursday Feb. 16th 2017:

All roads are now open again, but caution is still advised as always after rain when the sun heats any remaining loose material which then expands and may fall onto roads and paths.

Video of spectacular rockfall last Saturday

The video above was posted by Ruben Martinez on his facebook page and shows the spectacular 'rock bombardment' of Vueltas harbour in Valle Gran Rey, La Gomera last Saturday. There had been a very heavy shower during the night before, but this rockfall occurred well before the thunderstorm on Saturday afternoon. The video only shows the end of the landslide and rocks had fallen for about the same length of time before. No damage was done as the fishing boats are moored well away from the spot where the rocks hit the water as the spot where the large lumps fell is known for such incidents. It was lucky though that no swimmers were in that part of the water, as sometimes people who're not aware of this danger zone swim out to there and snorkelling is also popular there. Swimming and sunbathing on the larger part of the beach toward the pier is safe, however, and that's where most people go. 

Some rocks also fell onto the track that leads out to Argaga and the 'Finca Argayal' where the meditation centre is situated and many people walk under that cliff every day. See previous post about the dangerous path: Death in Argaga (click). There's an even more spectacular video at the end of that post. 

It is important to bear in mind that during and even long after rainy weather (when the sun heats the rock and soil) the erosion landscape of La Gomera is more 'active' and that being near cliffs then is even more dangerous than normally, but bear in mind that the sign below was put up there for a reason and that the rocky side of the beach is rocky for the same reason:

Warning sign just before the area where the rocks fell last Saturday

Rockfall in Valle Gran Rey

Short video of dust plumes taken at the end of a rockfall in Valle Gran Rey between Lomo del Riego and Borbalan (see images of another nearby: A spectacular landslide and rockfall ). These rockfalls and landslides happen every now and then as a result of loosening material due to temperature changes, erosion and especially after rain. In most cases, as in this one which happened about three weeks ago, no harm is done as houses are usually built well away from areas where rocks may fall, preferably on the top of ridges, called 'lomos'.

Scenic El Rejo road now fully open again

Images taken a few weeks before the reopening

The spectacular mountain road past the volcanic cone of 'El Rejo' whichis popular with tourists and connects the main north road with the main west and south roads through the national park had been first closed after a landslide late 2014. It was partially reopened some time ago and after remedial works which are said to have cost nearly half a million Euros were finished recently the road is fully open to the public once again. For locals in the area the closure of this byroad had meant very long detours.

Latest images of scenic road landslide repair works

The bright dots are steel anchors driven into t
he rock for the stabilising measures above the road

The damaged road clinging to the side of the mountain precariously. The road is open even for buses between the hours of 7am and 7pm. every day. I passed through there yesterday and took these images. Click to read more about this... 

The beautiful El Rejo valley below the landslide

Scenic road blocked by landslide now reopened

The reopened road,    Images above and below: gomeranoticias.com

The scenic road past the El Rejo volcanic cone was closed for a few days after a larger landslide late November last year, then briefly reopened after debris had been cleared off the road. Then another landslide only a few days later forced the renewed closure and it had remained closed since, while work was being carried out to stabilise the mountainside. Due to the very steep incline  this proved very difficult as conventional methods such as strong mesh-wire and concrete walls could not be employed due to the unstable terrain and for environmental reasons. The same stretch of road had been blocked before by a huge rock in February 2014.

Yesterday afternoon it was announced that the road will be open to the public again from today, but initially only during the day from 7am to 7pm. Drive with caution as only one lane will be open at the spot where work is continuing and two men with walkie-talkies are regulating traffic. The island's government, which is responsible for the road, has asserted that the works are nearing completion and the road should be reopened fully soon.

The spectacular mountain road is popular with tourists and connects the main north road with the main west and south roads through the national park. For locals in the area the closure of this byroad had meant very long detours.

The extent of the landslide 

Spectacular Rockfall and Landslide

There was a large rockfall and landslide from the top of Teguerguenche mountain towering over Valle Gran Rey yesterday. Around lunchtime there was a loud noise to be heard and huge boulders and thousands of tons of loose ochre-coloured material were seen tumbling down towards the harbour village of Vueltas. No harm was done as there are no houses in the area where falling rocks and debris normally come to rest, and the area below the cliff is respectfully avoided. However, it did happen some years ago that a few small stones were thrown into the open doors of a bar during a similar incident - again without doing any harm. Yesterday's rockfall just left a huge cloud of dust which lingered for a good while.

Rockfall and landslide in Valle Gran Rey, La Gomera

A close-up of a close shave for Vueltas village in VGR

Ten minutes later dust still rose while on the right of the plume some material continued to tumble down

Huge rock falls on scenic road

Images © Television Canaria

A huge lump of rock fell directly on the road in a scenic area known as El Rejo in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The minor road popular with tourists connects the main north road and the main west road through the national park was closed for a while during the clean-up of the landslide.

When driving on La Gomera motorists should be aware of the fact that roads near steep mountainsides and rocky roadsides could produce similar incidents almost anytime and while most of the rockfalls are of minor proportions one just never knows what maybe lying on the road around the next bend. Drive with extra caution on La Gomera, even when the weather is fine !