The episode of intense rains that triggered flooding due to a DANA in Valencia and other provinces almost two months ago, which caused the death of more than 220 people and an economic impact of more than 13,000 million euros (according to the Valencia Chamber of Commerce), broke the national records for accumulated rainfall in one, six and 12 hours, and triggered “historic rainfall” in the interior and the pre-coastal area of the province.
This is stated by the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) in the ‘Study on the situation of intense, locally torrential and persistent rains, in the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands between October 28 and November 4, 2024’, dated this Monday and which complements a preliminary version given to know last November 29.
The final report states that between October 28 and November 4 There was “a long episode of intense, locally torrential and persistent rains, which affected to a greater extent the Mediterranean provinces, adjacent provinces of the communities of Castilla-La Mancha and Aragón, as well as part of the southwestern quadrant.” He points out that on October 29 there were “very serious impacts, especially in the province of Valencia.”
In the preliminary version, of 13 pages, the Aemet indicated that on October 29, the “an extraordinary episode of precipitation” that affected the Levantine area with “historical accumulations” of precipitation in the Valencian Community.
“Great instability”
The new study, of 52 pages and of a technical nature, analyzes the meteorological situation and its subsequent evolution, describes the storm systems that were generated, exposes a daily chronology of how the rainfall occurreddescribes the weather warnings that were issued in the affected areas and compares the rains of October 29 in Valencia with respect to other historical DANAS since 1950 also in that province.
The Aemet emphasizes that the torrential rainfall that day was due to the presence of a DANA towards the Strait area and the transport of humidity from a “very warm” Mediterranean towards the peninsula, which caused “great atmospheric instability that led to the development of powerful storm systems.”
Specifically, in the area of Turis (Valencia) “the national record for the intensity of the accumulated precipitation in one, six and twelve hours“according to the report, with 184.6; 620.6 and 720.4 liters per square meter, respectively.
These 184.6 liters per square meter in one hour triple the value used by Aemet to consider rain as torrential (60 liters per square meter in one hour) and They surpass the previous record of Vinarós by 26 (Castellón) on October 19, 2018.
The values accumulated in 6 and 12 hours in Turís double the previous records, recorded in Alpandeire (Málaga) on October 21, 2018.
“Historic” rains
Furthermore, Aemet emphasizes that the torrential rainfall on October 29 was “historic in the interior and pre-coastal area of the province of Valencia.” In locations like Utiel or Requenalocated on a plateau with an average altitude of 750 meters, through which the Magro River, “There is no record of any previous day with so much accumulated precipitation” like that day, as well as “no other month as wet” as October 2024. In both locations there are continuous data records since 1948.
“Something similar happened in towns in the Ribera Alta, like Turís, or in the Hoya de Buñolas chivaboth located on the slope of the Poyo ravine and which recorded historic rainfall, both in intensity and accumulation,” he adds.
Other episodes
On the other hand, Aemet emphasizes that the province of Valencia has recorded several episodes of torrential rainfall in the last seven decades and recalls those of the October 14, 1957he October 20, 1982 and the November 3, 1987which also had “a great impact on people’s lives and infrastructure.”
In these four episodes, the accumulated maximum precipitation was located in different areas of Valencia. Thus, in 1957 it was located towards the northwest of the capital, with a flood that flooded the Valencian city due to the overflowing of the Turia river.
In 1982, the maximum was focused over the central-southwestern area of the province and gave rise to the well-known ‘Tous swamp‘ due to the failure of that dam, which caused serious flooding downstream of the Júcar River.
In 1987, the highest rainfall was centered on the Safor regions, on November 3, and on the Ribera Alta, on the 4th.
Regarding 2024, the low rainfall along the entire coast stands out, in contrast to the large amounts accumulated just a few dozen kilometers inland, with the area of maximum rainfall in the northern interior of the province and the northwestern part of the warning zone. of the southern coast.
The absolute maximum accumulated precipitation in 24 hours of each of the episodes were 494.4 liters per square meter (1957); 635.2mm (1982); 817.0 mm (1987), and 771.8 (2024). The 1987 record remains the national record for maximum precipitation in one day.
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