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Towards a better understanding of the evolution of the flood risk in Mediterranean urban areas: the case of Barcelona

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Abstract

This contribution explores the evolution of the flood risk in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (MAB; Northeast Spain) from 1981 to 2015, and how it has been affected by changes in land use, population and precipitation. To complete this study, we analysed PRESSGAMA and INUNGAMA databases to look for all the information related to the floods and flash floods that have affected the chosen region. The “Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros”, a state insurance company for extraordinary risks, provided data on economic damage. The extreme precipitation trend was analysed by the Fabra Observatory and El Prat-Airport Observatory, and daily precipitation data were provided by the State Meteorological Agency of Spain (AEMET) and the Meteorological Service of Catalonia (SMC). Population data were obtained from the Statistical Institute of Catalonia (IDESCAT). Changes in land use were estimated from the land use maps for Catalonia corresponding to 1956, 1993, 2000, 2005 and 2009. Prevention measures like rainwater tanks and improvements to the drainage system were also been considered. The specific case of Barcelona is presented, a city recognised by United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction as a model city for urban resilience to floods. The evolution of flood events in the MAB does not show any significant trend for this period. We argue that the evolution in floods can be explained, at least in part, by the lack of trend in extreme precipitation indices, and also by the improvements in flood prevention measures.

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Acknowledgements

This work has been supported by the Spanish Project HOPE (CGL2014-52571-R) of the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, and the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona Project (No. 308321) (Flood evolution in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona from a holistic perspective: past, present and future). It was developed in the framework of the HyMeX Programme (HYdrological cycle in the Mediterranean EXperiment). We would like to thank AEMET, SMC and ACA for the meteorological and hydrological information provided for this study. Thanks also to BCASA for the detailed information about the system used to prevent and manage floods. M. Turco was supported by the Spanish Juan de la Cierva Programme (Grant Code: IJCI-2015-26953). We would also like to acknowledge Hannah Bestow for the correction of the English language of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. GAMA, Department of Applied Physics, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Maria Cortès, Maria Carmen Llasat, Joan Gilabert, Montserrat Llasat-Botija & Marco Turco

  2. Cartographic and Geological Institute of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain

    Joan Gilabert

  3. Barcelona Supercomputing Center-Centro Nacional de Supercomputación, Barcelona, Spain

    Raül Marcos

  4. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UPC, Barcelona Tech, Barcelona, Spain

    Juan Pedro Martín Vide

  5. Urban Architect, FALCON Architecture and Urbanism, Barcelona, Spain

    Lluís Falcón

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  1. Maria Cortès
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Correspondence to Maria Cortès.

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Cortès, M., Llasat, M.C., Gilabert, J. et al. Towards a better understanding of the evolution of the flood risk in Mediterranean urban areas: the case of Barcelona. Nat Hazards 93 (Suppl 1), 39–60 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-017-3014-0

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