One in ten Valencian homes is built in a flood zone: in Daimús up to 71% of its buildings

Ten percent of the homes built in the Valencian Community are in a flood zone, a situation in which the municipalities of the DANA zone zero were not found before last October 29, when the floods devastated more than 70 towns. in the province of Valencia causing the death of 224 people (another three remain missing) and extensive material damage. This is clear from the work carried out by elDiario.es based on the data obtained from the Cadastre and the National Flood Zone Mapping System (SNCZI), which shows that in Spain there are more than two million buildings in danger of flooding.

This classification differentiates three types of flood zones: those found in places of preferential flow, with a high possibility of dangerous floods; in medium risk areas (return to 100 years); and in low risk areas (return to 500 years).

The areas most susceptible to flooding are concentrated mainly on the coast, especially in the province of Valencia and with a special impact on the area around l’Albufera; also in the vicinity of the marsh areas (Pego, Oliva, Sagunt…) and in the vicinity of the river beds, with the Segura and the Júcar as the greatest exponents.

Buildings in flood zones

According to this work, the Valencian Community is the eighth autonomous region in percentage of homes in this situation, with 10.2% of its real estate stock at risk, four points behind the second, Asturias (14.3%), but very far away. of Murcia, which leads this table with 26.9 of its buildings located in flood-prone areas. Thus, 29,812 homes (0.9%) are built in high-risk areas, some 150,000 (4.7%) in places with medium or occasional risk and just over 148,000 (4.6%) in areas where the danger is low. By province, Valencia has 12.1% of its properties in flood-prone areas (of greater or lesser risk), Castellón has 10.8% of its housing stock at risk and Alicante 8%.

By municipality, the Valencian town of Daimús, in the Valencian region of La Safor, is the one with the most buildings in danger of flooding: 71.9% (4,382 homes) are built in high risk or preferential flow areas; 88.4% (between them there are 5,388 properties) in places classified as a 100-year return period or medium risk; and 89% (a total of 5,454 between the three catalogues) in low-risk areas.

Other towns that have more than 10% of their buildings in areas of preferential flow or high risk of flooding are: Alzira, in the Ribera Alta (4,450 homes, 18.4%); Xàbia, in the Marina Alta (4,201 buildings, 15.9%); Els Poblets, also in the Marina Alta (450 houses, 5.9%); and Peñíscola, in the Baix Maestrat (2,255 homes, 12.4%).

In medium risk condition (100 years) we find Alfara del Patriarca, with zero percent of homes in preferential flow that become one hundred percent (1,916 buildings) in a century, as well as Guardamar de la Safor (796 housing, 75.5%); El Verger (1,832 houses, 47.6%); Bellreguard (2,069 properties, 47%); Carcaixent (4,752 homes, 45.9%); Miramar (1,971 constructions, 42.9%); Polinyà de Xúquer (610 buildings, 42.5%); or Beniparrell (395 houses, 42.4%). To these we must add the aforementioned municipalities: Daimús, Alzira, Els Poblets or Peñíscola.

The zero zone of the DANA, in the municipalities of Paiporta, Catarroja and Benetússer (Horta Sud), is only classified as flood prone at the least probable risk level, that of 500 years. Thus, in Paiporta there are 3,500 homes within the 500-year return perimeter and only 3 within the medium risk –100 years–; and in Catarroja, 99% of the homes are within the areas classified as low probability of flooding and no home is at medium risk.