The Canary Islands government has placed the entire archipelago under a state of pre-alert for rain after flash floods swept through parts of Gran Canaria. On Monday more than 30 litres per square metre of rain fell in less than an hour in some areas of the island.

The flooding has affected Gran Canaria’s 850,000 residents leaving streets buried under mud and debris, and vehicles submerged beneath bridges.

Published images show cars washed away by the floods in Gran Canaria, with its streets become raging rivers as water levels rise. Piles of mud and dirt have covered the streets as torrential rain battered the popular holiday island. The entire island of Lanzarote - the easternmost island of the archipelago - is also under a weather warning.

Floods swept cars down ravines and into the sea after heavy rain hit nearby hills in Spain’s Canary Islands. Passersby yanked one woman from car as it was starting to be dragged away by fast, muddy water overflowing from a stream on Gran Canaria.

Gran Canaria has been hit by massive flooding with cars being swept into the sea as a state of 'pre-alert' was declared