A tragic shark attack has claimed the life of a 30-year-old German woman, who was swimming off a catamaran more than 500 kilometers from the Canary Islands. The incident occurred on Monday, September 16, 2024, in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 180 kilometers east of Dakhla, Western Sahara. Despite efforts to rescue her, the woman died before reaching a hospital in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria.

The Canary Islands Government will conduct a test of the ES-Alert emergency warning system across Gran Canaria on Thursday, September 26. This system is part of Spain’s National Alert Network and is designed to send immediate SMS alerts to mobile phones in areas affected by imminent or ongoing emergencies. These alerts will provide crucial information on the safety measures that people should follow, allowing for accurate information and a quicker response to serious situations.

On Tuesday, September 10, 2024, a 3.8-magnitude earthquake shook Gran Canaria, marking one the strongest seismic events felt on the island in six decades. The quake, with its epicentre off the northern coastal municipality of Santa María de Guía, was felt across 14 of Gran Canaria’s 21 municipalities, according to the National Geographic Institute (IGN).