After more than 20 years, posts here will now only be occasional ( |
| Puerto de la Cruz in 1975 |
On December 14, 1975, a very strong windstorm occurred throughout the archipelago. Although not officially recognized by the Florida National Hurricane Centre, it's possible that its origin was in tropical depression TS2. In Santa Cruz de Tenerife there were gusts of wind of 162 km / h, and, at Izaña a maximum gust of 216 km / h was recorded. This would very likely have been a record, it it hadn't been for Tropical Storm Delta in 2005.
From an excerpt from the newspaper El Día in 1975, we learn: Those who experienced that event first hand said that the buildings vibrated with the storm and, even, in the Ofra neighbourhood, residents abandoned their flats to take refuge in hallways for fear of collapse. At eleven o'clock on December 14, the electricity disappeared and Tenerife was left in the dark. "The firefighters worked from ten at night until late in the morning to remove blocks, glass and trees that hindered traffic in the interior of Santa Cruz".
The Atlantic Broadcasting Centre of Radiotelevisión Española stopped broadcasting its signal in a wide radius of the Tenerife capital. "The city woke up with collapsed electrical and telephone cables, as well as being carpeted with flowerpots, plants and trees that began to be removed in the early hours of Monday morning," it was reported in a copy of EL DÍA, which at that time cost eight pesetas.
They were different times: In the palace of La Zarzuela, Juan Carlos I met with the Council of Ministers twenty-five days after Franco's death. In November 1975 adverts offered one-week cruises through Mauritania at 12,800 pesetas, a Mini at 125,000 pesetas or spacious apartments with a garage in the Simón Bolívar area for 1,950,000 pesetas.
In clinics and the general hospital, several people had to be assisted, with minor injuries.
In the port of the capital, the container ship "Frank Pais" had to be assisted by a tugboat due to the danger that it would collide with other ships after breaking its moorings; The circus tent installed in the Polígono de los Reyes Católicos jumped into the air; at Los Rodeos, La Palma and El Hierro all flights were suspended due to the adverse weather conditions; the plastics in the greenhouses were ripped ...
