The Madrid City Council has just approved a protocol for forecasting extreme rains, which affects several of its general directorates and seeks to develop a practical guide to “achieve maximum protection of the population and, as far as possible, avoid or less reduce the damage that may occur to property, essential services and the environment in risk areas.
The decree, to which Somos Madrid has had access, includes a series of mandatory actions in the event of possible episodes of extreme precipitation, likely to affect the normal operation of public services. The text was published a few days after the disaster caused by a DANA in Valencia and while new rains are announced for this week throughout the peninsula.
The measures included in the Action protocol in response to forecasts of extreme rains in the city of Madrid They affect the delegated area of Sanitation and Green Zones, in addition to the general directorates of Mobility and Urban Planning.
Among the most notable actions that will take place when the emergency level is declared, there is the 24-hour monitoring of the Manzanares River from the Telecontrol Center, both of its spillways and of the channel level, “in order to detect any alarming changes in this, and notify emergency means.
Additionally, to reduce the risk of flooding, service personnel should clear vegetation and remove fallen trees in affected areas, upstream and downstream, from spillways, walkways, dams and bridges. Homeless people living in areas at risk of flooding also need to be monitored and informed to prevent them from suffering damage during a flood.
The protocol includes a proposal to delimit flood zones, which in the city of Madrid are quite rare and limited to homes in the Barajas neighborhood, as well as public buildings in certain areas of Aravaca, to the spaces of the Country Club Villa de Madrid, at the Puerta de Hierro sports park or part of the municipal nurseries.
The municipal plan also emphasizes the adaptation, cleaning or unblocking of drainage elements, as well as the unblocking of drainage networks through certain current contracts such as the conservation of green spaces. And he orders paying “particular attention to cleaning the exterior of the scupper grates”.
Cranes and mobility agents
Regarding traffic on Madrid’s roads, Aemet’s warnings activate traffic congestion protocols due to rain, which generate a deployment of mobility agents at nine specific points of the “early shift”. Specifically at the roundabouts of Bilbao, San Vicente, San Antonio de la Florida, Santa María de la Cabeza or Méndez Álvaro, on Avenida de Pío XII, in Nudo Norte, in Plaza de Castilla and in Conde de Casal.
Additionally, the location of the EMT and Calle 30 cranes is established to minimize the time needed to respond to traffic incidents. The latter system was put in place by the Town Hall after major traffic jams due to rain were recorded in the capital three years ago.
The protocol provides for the launch of messages requesting extreme attention to traffic, on warning signs on the roads of Madrid and in the tunnels of Calle 30.
Municipal text requires the removal or otherwise waterproofing of temporary warehouses of debris or granular construction materials, to prevent rain from causing spills into the sewer system.
Finally, let us recall that in the processing of authorizations for temporary activities in enclosures or open spaces which require the installation of temporary, portable or removable elements, and within the framework of the instructions drawn up for this purpose, the General Directorate of Buildings has prepared a recommendations protocol. which will be followed by the organization of the event which includes a Climate Emergency Plan, with effective responses to emergency situations.
Historic downpours last year
The measurements come a few days after the images left by DANA in Valencia but also after several months of significant days of intense rain in Madrid. In October 2023, for example, the Spanish capital experienced a day of historic downpours, with several cuts on the metro and Cercanías lines and significant puddles in the streets of Madrid.
That day was the wettest on record, but just a month ago, intense downpours also left images of flooded commuter cars and other incidents.
