The DANA or cold drop that occurred in the province of Valencia is being labeled “the worst of the century” due to the material and human losses it is causing, among which there are currently more than 150 deaths and dozens of missing people. This type of distinction delves into the public perception that exists about these phenomena, often defined as “natural disasters.” But how much of a “disaster” and “natural” is there in reality in what is happening in Valencia?
The importance of terminology
In order to speak of a disaster, there must be an interaction between an event or natural hazard (the DANA) and a vulnerable social group (the Valencian population). Danger and vulnerability are the two components of risk, so the first can evolve into a disaster thanks to the existence of the second. In this way, disaster can be defined as a social construction of risk.
From the above it follows that, contrary to the association that is usually made in public discourse, A disaster is not an unavoidable fatality to which there is no other response than regret.. It is not something that can be attributed to climate change as a foreign entity with which human beings have nothing to do. Climate change is causing an acceleration of the water cycle, which in turn causes more violent rain events (natural hazard). But again, this does not lead to disasters.
Changing the discourse is essential and it has implications on two levels. Firstly, it can help to better understand the human contribution to the existence of disasters. Secondly, it allows us to propose measures to confront climatic dangers such as cold weather.
These measures can be structural and non-structural, which will depend on whether they involve physical actions or not. In any case, both levels are related to each other. Also with the sustainability of humanity in the future, while our socioeconomic development has not been harmonized with the protection of the environment.
Water sensitive human development
The European Union’s Climate Adaptation Platform (Climate-ADAPT) has imported the concept of water-sensitive urban design (WSUD). This term was coined in Australia to minimize the impacts of urban development on water resources.
The emergence of this concept and other similar ones has its origin in the phenomena of urbanization and urban expansion that the planet has experienced in recent decades. If today 56% of the population – 4.4 billion – lives in citiesforecasts suggest that 7 out of 10 people will live in urban areas in 2050. These figures reveal the scarcity of human perception in the face of the decline that such uncontrolled growth implies in the ability to prevent, reduce or minimize the consequences of an event. natural.
Given the level of development currently being achieved and that foreseen in the future, the focus must be placed on regeneration through renaturation mechanisms. The concept of water-sensitive urban design can be extrapolated to territorial planning in general.so that public space planning that is respectful of the natural water cycle can help prevent and mitigate the impacts of climate events.
The strategic implementation of nature-based solutions can generate green and blue infrastructure networks with multiple associated environmental values, including better rainwater management. Specifically, green infrastructure allows precipitation to be captured at source (that is, where the rain falls) and its subsequent filtration into the ground. In this way, the generation and accumulation of runoff (surface water that does not infiltrate into the soil) is avoided.
Education and public awareness
The adoption of measures such as those described above requires an alignment between territorial public policies and the management of water resources, which is not a trivial issue. Once again, assuming responsibilities in this escalation from danger to disaster is essential to not undermine the public will to respond to the existence of environmental phenomena.
Therefore, despite the potential of structural solutions, the priority must always be the promotion of non-structural measures such as awareness and education. These measures must be based on participatory processes that involve different social groups, as well as different demographic profiles, given that vulnerability increases depending on factors such as sex, age and nationality, among others.
Gaining understanding about how to prepare for and act in the face of climate events is essential to avoid their conversion into disasters. To acquire this knowledge, the first step is to recognize the components of risk and their relationship with the specific environment in which individuals are located. In this way, actions can be developed such as establishing safe meeting points and designing contingency plans to mitigate impacts.
In addition, communication also stands as another essential element for the management of climatic and environmental events. On the one hand, administrations must offer advance information about the occurrence of this type of phenomena, also providing recommendations and action protocols. On the other hand, citizen association within communities can also strengthen response capacity and social cohesion in the face of negative impacts.
In conclusion, I go back more than 2,000 years to quote Sun Tzu: “If you know the enemy and you know yourself, you need not fear the outcome of a hundred battles. If you know yourself, but not the enemy, for every victory obtained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know nothing about the enemy or yourself, you will succumb in every battle.».
#chaos #mismanagement #natural #disaster #Valencia #catastrophe
