While Spain is holding its breath for the end of this chain of victims after the biggest disaster in the country so far this century, many people are wondering how a disaster of this magnitude was possible in such a short time. By removing the abstract nature of nature from the equation, some data begins to emerge and gives context to the drama unfolding. For example, 20 years ago, a region was considered “critical” in terms of floods and this data was deliberately turned into a “brick”. Oddly, it coincides with the real estate and financial bubble that burst in 2008 and 2009.

News. Datadista said this yesterday via numbers obtained by the European satellite emergency system Copernicus EMS. In the province of Valencia, the area flooded by DANA reaches 15,633 hectares; Affected population of 190,000 people, 17,597 residential buildings and 3,249 km of flooded streets and roads.

However, when we turned to the topic, the media found something very interesting in the analysis of all buildings for residential use published by the Cadastre (and located in the area previously delimited by the Copernicus EMS): more than 75,000 houses are affected by DANA and since 1950 almost a third of it was built in this century. Ironically the bricks were erected when it was known that these areas were extremely critical.

2003 Plan. We are talking about the Regional Action Plan for the Prevention of Flood Risk in the Valencian Community (PATRICOVA), a regional planning tool designed to manage and reduce flood risks in the region. Originally approved in 2003 (and later revised in 2015), the plan establishes guidelines and measures to prevent and reduce the damage that flooding can cause to people, property and the environment.

Which one? Since then PATRICOVA’s main goals include the following points:

• Assess and learn about flood risks in the territory of the Valencian Community.
• Incorporate the flood risk variable into regional and urban plans, programs and projects.
• Coordinate actions between public administrations and social actors to minimize the negative consequences of floods.
• Promote more efficient regional patterns by directing urban development to areas that are not prone to flooding or are less hazardous.
• Manage flood zones within the Green Infrastructure system by promoting the protection and enhancement of water-related natural and cultural landscapes.

In short, PATRICOVA classifies the region according to different flood hazard levels and determines restrictions and recommendations for land use according to these levels. It is also claimed to encourage the conduct of flood surveys and the implementation of structural and non-structural measures to defend against floods.

Datadista’s study now questions many of these actions, as a significant proportion of buildings in affected areas (three out of ten homes) are and are known to be built in “flood zones”.

Zero point and construction. In fact, according to the maps presented on Datadista, ground zero of the disaster is located in the southern belt of the Valencia metropolitan area, where more than 200,000 people live. It is an area located in a flood-prone area, as it receives rainfall that occurs in the interior of the province and flows mainly to the Albufera de Valencia and to the sea via the new channel of the Turia River.

Precisely, a significant part of the DANA floods occurred due to a river overflow caused by runoff generated in valleys and higher elevations, that is, in areas where a storm train replenishes itself for hours. The result: total rainfall of 618 liters per square meter in 24 hours, maximum rainfall of 179.4 l/m² in one hour and a peak of 42 l/m² in just 10 minutes, an absolute record of rainfall in one hour in Spain.

Build in critical areas. When we look at the media data, the question that comes to mind is clear: Why is construction allowed in “flood zones”? At the national level, we must turn to the Public Hydraulic Area Regulation (RDPH), a set of rules that regulate the management, protection and use of public hydraulic space, including rivers, streams and other continental water flows in the equation. Its aim is to guarantee the protection and sustainable use of water resources and to minimize the risks associated with events such as floods.

Its last update took place last year in 2023 and continued to allow home construction in flood-prone areas, provided that measures are taken to reduce risk and increase safety according to the risks and hazards. In this context, the Insurance Compensation Consortium has an explanatory guide on how to implement these measures, since approximately three million Spaniards live in areas with a high risk of flooding.

It’s a “built-in” problem. El País reported that Spain has more than 26,000 km of rivers with flood zones, where 2.7 million people live. What happened in Valencia showed the need for structural measures like Júcar’s and a review of management plans. Problem? Uncontrolled urban expansion since the 60s has enabled construction in flood-prone areas.

“This happened until 2015, when the latest version of the land law forced municipalities to prepare a flood report with flood risk maps and declare these lands as undevelopable,” Professor Jorge Olcina explains to the media. Alicante from Regional Planning.

Although, as we said, despite the law requiring flood reports to be obtained since 2003 and when it was revised in 2015, there are still municipalities with old plans that do not consider restrictions. In this context, the professor emphasized that “all plans over 15 years of age must be updated to comply with current regulations.”

Image | Patricova, IGN

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