SMC-Flood database: a high-resolution press database on flood cases for the Spanish Mediterranean coast (1960–2015)

Abstract

Abstract. Flood databases of high spatio-temporal resolution are a necessary tool for proper spatial planning, especially in areas with high levels of exposure and danger to floods. This study presents the preliminary results of the Spanish Mediterranean Coastal Flood (SMC-Flood) database covering the municipalities in this region. This database collects information on flood cases that occurred between 1960 and 2015 by systematically consulting the digital archives of the main newspapers in the study area. The search for flood information was conducted by means of using links between municipality names and seven keywords that correspond to the most common ways of referring to a situation that is likely to describe a flood in Spain. This methodology has enabled the reconstruction of 3008 flood cases at a municipal scale with daily resolution while gathering information on the types of damage, intensity, severity and area affected. The spatio-temporal analysis of the data reveals hotspots where flood cases are especially intense and damaging when compared to highly developed areas where the frequency of flood cases is very high. This situation is especially worrying insofar as we have detected a growing trend in the frequency and area affected by flood cases. However, one positive aspect is that the intensity and severity of flood cases follows a falling trend. The main novelty lies in the fact that the high-resolution spatial analysis has made it possible to detect a clear latitudinal gradient of growing intensity and severity in a north–south direction. This pattern calls for new actions by the coastal municipal authorities of southern Spain for adaptation to a more complex flood scenario.

Synoptic causes of torrential rainfall in South-eastern Spain (1941–2017)

“…The seasonal and monthly distribution of the dates demonstrates that autumn, during which approximately 70% of the events occurred, is the critical season with October as the most prominent month; this is known from the historical compilation and reconstruction of floods as well (Gil Guirado et al, 2019;Barriendos et al, 2019). The autumnal concentration of the events analysed corresponds to the most negative values of the daily WeMOi at the aforementioned station throughout the year; this was already recognised by Meseguer-Ruiz et al (2018).…”

Intra-annual variability of the Western Mediterranean Oscillation (WeMO) and occurrence of extreme torrential precipitation in Catalonia (NE Iberia)

“…These torrential events can cause dangerous floods and can have serious social and economic consequences, even human casualties, in the Mediterranean regions, e.g. in eastern Spain (Olcina et al, 2016;Kreibich et al, 2017;Nakamura and Llasat, 2017;Martin-Vide and Llasat, 2018) and in southern Spain (Gil-Guirado et al, 2019;Naranjo-Fernández et al, 2020). Climatological studies on torrential precipitation frequency and intensity are therefore relevant with regard to improving emergency plans and mitigating flood damage.…”

¿Somos todos iguales ante una inundación? Análisis de la vulnerabilidad social en el litoral mediterráneo español

“…La verificación del ICVS a partir de la combinación ejecutada con la base de datos de Gil Guirado et al (2019) arroja una correlación significativa y positiva entre valor de ICVS a escala municipal y daños ocasionados por inundaciones a nivel municipal. Estos primeros resultados ponen en valor este tipo de índices para ser empleados en un futuro por gestores del territorio como instrumentos de valoración previa de la vulnerabilidad ante este tipo de peligros naturales.…”

“…Su explicación podría venir dada por la construcción de espacios de desigualdad en torno a las grandes ciudades frente a un medio rural cuyas puntuaciones, aunque por debajo de la media, son más homogéneas. Por su parte, el caso de la Región de Murcia y su nivel de ICVS, parece evidenciar un gradiente latitudinal norte/sur de menor a mayor vulnerabilidad, ya señalado por GilGuirado et al (2019). Basta recordar a este respecto que el factor que más aumenta la vulnerabilidad en la Región de Murcia es el perfil socioeconómico.En cuarto y último lugar, de forma contraria a lo que la lógica nos señala, las zonas inundables son menos vulnerables socialmente que las no inundables.…”