The relationship between precipitation and insurance data for floods in a Mediterranean region (northeast Spain)

Floods in the Mediterranean region are often surface water floods, in which intense precipitation is usually the main driver. Determining the link between the causes and impacts of floods can make it easier to calculate the level of flood risk. However, up until now, the limitations in quantitative...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Cortés Simó, Maria, Turco, Marco, Llasat-Botija, Montserrat, Llasat Botija, María del Carmen
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2018
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/121842
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/121842
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Precipitacions (Meteorologia)
Inundacions
Assegurances
Mediterrània (Regió)
Precipitations (Meteorology)
Floods
Insurance
Mediterranean Region
Descripción
Sumario:Floods in the Mediterranean region are often surface water floods, in which intense precipitation is usually the main driver. Determining the link between the causes and impacts of floods can make it easier to calculate the level of flood risk. However, up until now, the limitations in quantitative observations for flood-related damages have been a major obstacle when attempting to analyse flood risk in the Mediterranean. Flood-related insurance damage claims for the last 20 years could provide a proxy for flood impact, and this information is now available in the Mediterranean region of Catalonia, in northeast Spain. This means a comprehensive analysis of the links between flood drivers and impacts is now possible. The objective of this paper is to develop and evaluate a methodology to estimate flood damages from heavy precipitation in a Mediterranean region. Results show that our model is able to simulate the probability of a damaging event as a function of precipitation. The relationship between precipitation and damage provides insights into flood risk in the Mediterranean and is also promising for supporting flood management strategies.