Las Floods are the most frequent natural catastrophes and that generate greater damage in Spain. According to the data of the Insurance Compensation Consortium, floods represent 65% of the amount of damages compensated by extraordinary risks.
They are every time more frequent due to climate change and have devastating effects, endangering human lives, causing true disasters at the environmental level and biodiversity and causing large economic losses, among other negative impacts.
It is expected that In the coming decades increase the risk of floods. With adequate measures you can reduce your probability and limit your impact. To this end, integrated flood risk management must focus on sustainable water management and measures that minimize the impact of these extreme meteorological phenomena.
Flood: Impact on Spain
The Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (Miteco) The prior public consultation has started today for the update of the Regulation of the Public Hydraulic Domain and the Royal Decree of Evaluation and Management of the Risk of Flood.
The episodes of Inoundations of recent years, and especially October Danamake a hardening of the regulations on flood risk management necessary.
The norm of standard that is submitted to consultation, through new modifications, to deal with these risks. First, the measures that have already been taken and, secondly, new measures will be taken to minimize the risk for people and goods will be reinforced.
In this sense, I know It seeks to regulate more strictly the uses in flood areas, as well as incorporate resilience measures and adaptation to the risk of flooding of the existing vulnerable elements in the flood areas.
In addition, It is intended to establish a common collaboration framework between the different public administrations involved, In order to improve the implementation of protection measures against floods, as well as the reinforcement of risk prevention training, both for public employees and citizenship, in coordination with the Civil Protection authorities.
Floods are the most frequent and destructive natural catastrophes in Spaincausing significant damage and putting human lives at risk. In addition, their frequency and intensity have increased in recent years, with increasingly devastating effects both in economic and environmental terms.
He Global warming and increasingly abrupt climatic changes are increasing the risk of floods worldwideand Europe is no exception. In particular, the Mediterranean region is especially vulnerable, since the Mediterranean Sea is becoming an extremely warm sea. This phenomenon increases the risk of extreme climatic events, both droughts and floods.
Climate change and real estate businesses without control
In this sense, The Clivar-Spain report on the climate in Spain 2024 highlights the implications of the Heating of the Mediterranean Sea in convective events and intense rainfall in Spain: “There are large regional and seasonal differences, the Mediterranean area being the most sensitive to the extremes.
Las Trends of extreme rainfall are not clear to the entire territory or temporary period, but an increase in convective events has been observed, which leads to an increase in high rainfall events, especially in autumn late, probably related to a warmer Mediterranean sea. ”
The Dana occurred in Spain between October 29 and November 4, 2024 is a sample of the extraordinary magnitude that this type of phenomena can reachwith devastating consequences in terms of human and material losses.
According to The recent meteorological report of the Aemet, this DANA has broken the national record of precipitation intensity accumulated in one, six and twelve hourswith a maximum registered value of 771 l/m² in 24 hours. In addition, precipitation throughout the Júcar basin reached a total volume close to 2,000 hm³ in 24 hours.
This type of Extreme events is also increasing frequency in other regions of Europe. An example of this are the floods that occurred in southern Germany and Belgium in the summer of 2021, which caused more than two hundred deaths; Those registered in the winter of 2023-2024 and in June 2024 in Germany, where widespread rainfall ranged between 100 and 200 l/m² in four days, reaching 300 l/m² locally in areas near the Alps.
In these cases, The amount of precipitation corresponded to statistically less frequent eventss that once every hundred years, and in some areas he doubled the monthly average in just a few days.
They also stand out The extreme rains caused by the Boris storm in September 2024which affected Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, causing at least 24 deaths.
These recent facts underline the growing seriousness of the risk of flooding. While floods have always been a recurring phenomenon in Spain, especially in the Peninsular Levante, we may meet a new scenario characterized by new generation floodswith a particularly significant impact on the Mediterranean area.
Current regulatory regulations
- Regulation of the Public Hydraulic Domain, (RDPH) approved by Royal Decree 849/1986, of April 11which is the basic regulatory regulations that regulate the public hydraulic domain and that in successive stages has been introducing essential regulations in the treatment of flood risks.
- Royal Decree 903/2010, of July 9, of evaluation and management of flood risk, which regulates the procedures to carry out the preliminary evaluation of the risk of flooding, the danger and risk maps and the flood risks management plans.
- Royal Decree 876/2014, of October 10by which the General Coastal Regulations are approved.
These standards It has already been subject to modifications introduced, among others by the Royal Decrees 9/2008, of January 11; 638/2016, of December 9 and 665/2023, of July 18.