The last two weeks have been quite eventful from a meteorological point of view. The last DANA passing through Spain kept the citizens of the provinces of Malaga and Valencia in suspense. Especially the latter, where it was already raining after the floods of October 29 which leaves more than 200 dead. On this occasion, Malaga was the city that saw some of its streets transformed into rivers, but fortunately there was nothing to regret apart from some material losses. A result far from the disaster that closed last month, but why was Malaga spared from the same phenomenon that flooded Valencia?
Several agents must be taken into account to understand the differences between one case and another. The main reason is that last Wednesday in Malaga it rained a lot less that day, the south of Valencia was flooded, reports Rubén del Campo, spokesperson for the National Meteorological Agency (AEMET).
The Andalusian town recorded 240 liters per square meter in twelve hourswhile the Levantine towns recorded, two weeks earlier, 770 liters in less than this time. “It’s scandalous. There is no soil capable of absorbing all this water,” says José Damián Ruiz, professor of physical geography at the University of Malaga (UMA).
This is the same meteorological event, but the context is different, on October 29 the Mediterranean Sea was much warmer, so the available humidity was greater. This, added to the winds that were blowing, “made the rains torrential”according to del Campo. In addition, in Malaga, the storms lasted much shorter, he adds.
When approaching this question, geography cannot be ignored. Ruiz explains that there are three factors to consider: how it rains, where it rains and what flow is generated. In the second question, we must take into account not only the location of the city, but also the characteristics of the soil.
The situation can vary considerably if the population is on porous materials that facilitate water drainage. For example, if such a storm fell in a forest, it would not pose a problem because the understory (a second filter of vegetation below) can absorb the falling flow, explains the geographer. However, an urbanized flood zone It will be much more complicated. “Even the streams have been paved,” laments the professor.
Despite these agents, one must also be aware of the capacity of the hydrographic system to be able to flow according to the quantity of water, warns Ruiz. Last Wednesday, Malaga saw the fall a quarter of the rain that flooded Valencia. “If it had rained, only half of it would have caused a very serious conflict.”
The UMA geographer points out that Malaga is no less prone to flooding than the province of Valencia. The city is built on a river plain that connects the mountain to the Mediterranean coast. In many cases, this union is only a few dozen meters long, adds Ruiz. Additionally, the Guadalmedina River and several streams are nearby. They can be “real ravines”. Developing and expanding the city in such an enclave makes it “a very vulnerable colony,” he warns.
The influence of climate change
Del Campo, spokesperson for AEMET, acknowledges that suffering two DAMAGEs with so little time between them is not common. He doesn’t expect it to become commonplace. in the future, but it is clear that these types of extreme weather phenomena “will become even more so with climate change”. Science still does not know whether this context will make these events more frequent, but it seems more obvious that they will have greater intensity.
This information should encourage people to work in flood-prone areas and avoid damaging urbanized areas as much as possible, Ruiz believes. For him, Land use planning plays a key role in this matter. Town planning must take into account and respect these natural risks. “We know they are going to happen and we have to learn to live with them.”
El papel de la prevención
Otro aspecto que también fue diferente entre la DANA que inundó Málaga y la que anegó el sur de la provincia de Valencia, y zonas de Albacete y Cuenca, fueron las medidas preventivas, cuenta Jesús Miranda, director de la cátedra de Seguridad, Emergencias y Catástrofes. En esta ocasión, las autoridades tomaron las máximas precauciones ante el aviso de la AEMET.
Se suspendieron las clases en numerosos puntos de la provincia y se pidió a la gente la máxima precaución y que se evitaran los desplazamientos innecesarios. La actividad comercial también era prácticamente nula en Málaga y alrededores, cuenta Miranda. “Esto ha contribuido a no lamentar pérdidas humanas”. Incluso, se evacuó a las personas que vivían cerca de la ribera del río Guadalmedina para evitar posibles riesgos. “Málaga estaba vacía, como en pandemia”, apunta Ruiz.
El catedrático está bastante seguro de que la catástrofe vivida en Valencia ha influido en esta actuación preventiva de las autoridades andaluzas. “No dudaron en dar la alerta roja, como quizá si hubiese pasado en otras ocasiones”, sostiene. Al estar tan recientes las consecuencias de esa última DANA, tanto los responsables como la población estaban muy concienciados. “Si hubiese ocurrido un año antes [la inundación levantina]perhaps the response would not have been so forceful.”
Culture of prevention
Miranda regrets that In Spain there is a lack of culture of prevention and the population is not sufficiently prepared to know how to react in the event of an emergency. The professor believes that it is necessary to carry out campaigns and include this subject in the school curriculum. “It has to start in the schools themselves.” It is also important that citizens are informed of the alerts issued by the authorities on these occasions and their importance.
What happened in Valencia left a series of “identified injuries” in the systemMiranda said. Now we have to learn more and continue to evolve. Spain is ready and has the means to face these problems, but you have to know how to use them, he defends. “There must not be dead people on the table to wake up”
