Rainfall and floods in tourist centres in Gran Canaria: the case of San Bartolomé de Tirajana

The southern region of Gran Canaria has undergone a process of intense transformation as a result of the tourist installations built in the area since 1962. The environmental consequences of this process include flooding. This study aims to determine whether the building of tourist installations is related to the increase, over recent decades, in flood related damage. To this end, a diachronic analysis from 1962 to the present day has been carried out, comparing the evolution observed between bouts of intense rainfall and the problems encountered. The results show that the recent increase in damage from flooding is explained by the way in which urban development, together with related tourist infrastructure, has spread.