“The Mediterranean climate has always had recurrent droughts and torrential rains, but in recent decades flood damage is skyrocketing“. This statement is contained in a work dated November 1 from the New Culture of Water Foundation, to which it has had access Public.
The document has been prepared after the DANA that has hit the Valencian Community and is titled Why is flood damage increasing? Collect eight causes or factors and then provide eight ideas as proposals. These are.
The experts point out in the work: “Before sharing our reflections on some aspects related to flood risk management we want to express our empathy and solidarity with the entire affected population”.
Causes and factors
For the New Water Culture Foundation, The fundamental issue that contextualizes the entire problem is the climate crisis. It is, they state, caused by the “increase in atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gasesmainly as a consequence of the massive use of fossil fuels that accompanies industrialization, implies a rise in average air and sea temperatures and leads to a greater frequency and intensity of extreme phenomena such as droughts and torrential rains: the Mediterranean basin is especially sensitive to these changes.
Next, the experts analyze that “the evacuation of the flows generated by intense rainfall is made difficult by several factors, among which are, on the one hand, the occupation of flood zones for housing and infrastructure.
This, in the opinion of the foundation, “increases the population risk exposure and the goods settled there, while reducing the space through which the water would naturally circulate”.
“Despite having flood maps – the document reads – and abundant regulations, the occupation of these areas is maintained and even construction continues in them.”
For the foundation proliferation of “increasingly intensive agricultural spaces” and without conservation practices” is another of the elements that explain why water does more damage.
This is how they explain it: “Industrial agriculture and the expansion of intensive irrigation They are increasing runoff and sediment transport, due to the general practice of keeping soils bare, without the protection of vegetation cover, and in the absence of conservation practices. Damage increases downstream because the water arrives in less time, in greater quantity and loaded with more sediment.”
The mode of expansion of urban spaces also has an influence: “The hitherto unstoppable soil waterproofingdue to urban expansion and proliferation of infrastructure, reduces infiltration and drastically increases the volume and speed of surface circulation of water and, with it, the damage.”
On the other hand, the foundation points out that “new transport infrastructure (highways, railway lines, roundabouts…) disrupt natural drainage“. They create “barriers that alter the drainage network and divert water flows to areas until then free of floods.”
The experts add that “flood defense works, such as dredging, mounds, dikes, meander cuts and channeling, create a false security that favors greater occupation of flood-prone areas, increasing exposure to risk.”
Furthermore, these infrastructures “increase the speed of the water and its capacity for destruction downstream.” “The channeling of ravines that allowed the urban expansion of the towns of l’Horta Sud and the possible barrier effect of the southern dike of the new Turia channel that limits the natural flooding space of the Poio rambla, are dramatic examples of this phenomenon,” the document states. .
For the New Water Culture Foundation, there are also cultural, ideological if you will, elements that prevent better management. Thus, they state that the “institutional warning and intervention systems” are “limited or poorly functioning”.
“In many cases – it is read in the work – it is not a problem of lack of information and training (there are emergency plans, alert systems, etc., of course that can be improved), but of a political culture that prefers to minimize problems instead of conveying their seriousness to the population.
Another factor that has to do with sensitivity is, in the opinion of these experts, the “general lack of a risk management culture“: a way of thinking that has not internalized the precautionary principle for the management of uncertainty and systematically puts private economic benefit before the safety of citizens, delaying the adoption of measures.”
Ideas and proposals
In addition to listing the shortcomings, for each of them, the foundation exposes a possible solution. Thus, experts ask themselves the following question: What can we do to reduce flood damage? These are their proposals.
On the one hand and as a key to the vault, they propose “an effective policy for adaptation and mitigation to climate change“. “The effects of climate change are now inevitable. We must act urgently to adapt our lifestyle to the new situation and at the same time reduce atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. Some adaptation (and mitigation) actions are costly and take time to carry out, but it is urgent to start them,” they say.
As more mundane, less philosophical elements, the foundation proposes “respecting flood zones”“eliminate housing and infrastructure in high-risk areas”, “return space to rivers”, “implement natural water retention measures in agricultural spaces”, and “sustainable urban drainage systems”.
Thus, the foundation proposes that the autonomous communities and city councils develop territorial and urban planning plans that “incorporate the reduction of the existing occupation of the flood zones identified on risk maps already available”.
They also urge “to carry out a census of housing and facilities in areas of high risk or great social vulnerability (schools, health centers, nursing homes, disadvantaged population groups). Repairs after a flood must be prioritized with social criteriaattending to the basic needs of the most vulnerable. But they must also be carried out with a perspective that minimizes risks and reduces the probability of further harm.”
Thus, they state, “aid should not be granted for the reconstruction of homes in flood-prone areas, but Secure their relocation to safe areasas was done, for example, with the population of Gavarda after the Tous dam burst in 1982. The moment of reconstruction is also the opportunity to do things better, correcting past mistakes.”
The fluvial territory, constituted by the river itself and the adjacent floodable spaces, analyzes the foundation, “acts as a zone of expansion of floodsprotecting downstream urban areas.” Therefore, they consider, “there can be no better insurance for a riverside population than replacing an adverse phenomenon, the flood, with another less harmful one, the overflow, in suitable areas.”
The foundation reasons that A change in culture is essential to be able to face the risks. “Given the insurmountable uncertainty associated with prediction models and techniques, it is necessary to develop and incorporate a culture of precaution into decision-making.”
Thus, they consider, there must be a “reinforcement and improvement of the coordination of resources and institutional mechanisms for rapid response in emergencies due to extreme events, in order to improve the agility and effectiveness of the systems, but also to limit the discretion of decisions.”
“As seen in the October 2024 floods, the delay in risk communication and the launching of alerts by the Generalitat may have contributed significantly to the increase in the number of victims. With the same information available, other institutions such as the University of Valencia, warned earlier, reducing the risk exposure of students and staff,” the work reads.
Finally, the foundation assures that it is necessary to “promote a education and social communication strategy on the need for adaptive flood management”.
“We need to educate in the management of uncertainty and risk, counting on the riverside inhabitants and developing education, social communication and training programs. Only a well-informed society will support adequate management of territories and will be better prepared to address adaptation to climate change and reduce personal injury in emergency situations,” they emphasize.
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