Reports from University of Girona Highlight Recent Findings in Climate Change (More Exposed but Also More Vulnerable? Climate Change, High Intensity Precipitation Events and Flooding In Mediterranean Spain)

2020 FEB 27 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Climate Change Daily News -- Data detailed on Climate Change have been presented. According to news reporting originating from Girona, Spain, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of high intensity precipitation events in increasing the vulnerability to floods in Mediterranean Spain. Precipitation intensity in this area appears to have augmented in the last two decades in association with warming trends of the Mediterranean Sea.”

Financial support for this research came from Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from the University of Girona, “At the same time, intense urbanization processes, occupying and transforming flood prone land, have produced an important increase in exposure. The main objective is to assess whether higher intensity precipitation and changing patterns in exposure aggravate vulnerability to floods. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, vulnerability is understood as the result of the interrelationships between exposure, sensitivity, impacts and adaptive capacity. Consequently, methods used involved the compilation and analysis of published and unpublished precipitation data, population and land use data, data on insurance claims, and media sources related to those variables. Changes toward episodes of more intense precipitation in the expanding urban areas of Mediterranean Spain increase exposure but not necessarily vulnerability, at least in terms of human deaths. However, adaptative capacity needs to be formulated. Actions that attempt to absorb and eventually reuse flood flows (as the flood park in Alicante) appear to be more effective than traditional hydraulic solutions (as in Majorca). Originality/value The paper provides a systematic and coherent approach to vulnerability analysis taking into account the changing dynamics of its components.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Especially, it signals the limits of current adaptive approaches to flooding and advocates for changes toward a more circular and less linear approach to urban drainage.”

For more information on this research see: More Exposed but Also More Vulnerable? Climate Change, High Intensity Precipitation Events and Flooding In Mediterranean Spain. Disaster Prevention and Management An International Journal, 2020;():. Disaster Prevention and Management An International Journal can be contacted at: Emerald Group Publishing Ltd, Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, W Yorkshire, England.

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting A. Ribas, University of Girona, Dept. of Geography, Girona, Spain. Additional authors for this research include J. Olcina and D. Sauri.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1108/DPM-05-2019-0149. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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