Changes in flood damage with global warming in the east coast of Spain

One common approach to cope with floods is the implementation of structural flood protection measures, such as levees or flood-control reservoirs, which substantially reduce the probability of flooding at the time of implementation. Numerous scholars have problematized this approach. They have shown...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Cortés Simó, Maria, Turco, Marco, Ward, Philip J., Sánchez Espigares, Josep A. (Josep Anton), Alfieri, Lorenzo, Llasat Botija, María del Carmen
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/151118
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/151118
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Inundacions
Precipitacions (Meteorologia)
Mediterrània (Regió)
Floods
Precipitations (Meteorology)
Mediterranean Region
Descripción
Sumario:One common approach to cope with floods is the implementation of structural flood protection measures, such as levees or flood-control reservoirs, which substantially reduce the probability of flooding at the time of implementation. Numerous scholars have problematized this approach. They have shown that increasing the levels of flood protection can attract more settlements and high-value assets in the areas protected by the new measures. Other studies have explored how structural measures can generate a sense of complacency, which can act to reduce preparedness. These paradoxical risk changes have been described as levee effect, safe development paradox or safety dilemma. In this commentary, we briefly review this phenomenon by critically analysing the intended benefits and unintended effects of structural flood protection, and then we propose an interdisciplinary research agenda to uncover these paradoxical dynamics of risk.