Incremento de episodios de inundación por lluvias de intensidad horaria en el sector central del litoral mediterráneo español: análisis de tendencias en Alicante

Abstract

Flood episodes recorded in localities of the Spanish Mediterranean coast, in last years, show some interesting characteristics for its analysis. These are events where huge amounts of daily rainfall are not required to cause high economic damage and loss of human lives. There is a loss in the seasonal regularity of occurrence of this type of episodes, since important events have been developed in non-autumn months, within the risk calendar of abundant rains on this geographical area. This paper analyzes the episode of floods occurred in March 2017 in the city of Alicante, as an example of this type of situation that is being more frequent lately in this region. The paper proposes a series of adaptation measures that must be developed in cities along the Mediterranean coast to reduce the current and future effects of these episodes.