Director Ron Howard reported on Twitter that he, along with the cast and crew of his new film "In the Heart of the Sea," had to evacuate the movie set as flash floods and mudslides hit the Canary Islands on Monday.
"Heart of the Sea" features "Rush" star Chris Hemsworth, and had been shooting in the Spanish archipelago off the coast of North Africa in an area called La Gomera. But when "rare heavy rain," as Howard explained in a tweet, swept through the area everyone had to relocate.
Howard recounted the story Monday.
According to the New York Post, local reports indicated that five people died after the storm caused flash floods on Tenerife, which was 20 miles from La Gomera. Hundreds were left homeless.
"In the Heart of the Sea" is adapted from Nathaniel Philbrick's drama about how the Whaleship Essex was chased and attacked by a sperm whale in 1820. The crew was left adrift for 90 days and turned to cannibalism, and the true story inspired Herman Melville's "Moby-Dick."
Imagine Entertainment's Brian Grazer told the Post, "There was a near-typhoon, which is very rare for that area. Ron had to shut down the production and get everyone out of there. Thankfully, none of the cast or crew were hurt. Production has been put on hold."