Lessons from an exceptional storm
BarcelonaThe rain and wind storm that has battered Catalonia this weekend has left spectacular images of flooding, tens of thousands of people affected to one degree or another, and a provisional toll of two dead and one missing. In the coming days, it will be necessary to refine the damage assessment and the management of the emergency, but from the outset, two things can already be stated. The ES-Alert warnings may be annoying at times, but this time they have proven their usefulness. Seeing the magnitude of the flows coming down streams and ravines, it is not difficult to think that without a generalized warning there would have been more victims. The citizenry, in general terms, has already learned to heed the recommendations and acts accordingly.
However, once again it has become clear that the country is not, by any means, prepared to face episodes that climate change is making increasingly frequent. In fact, after a summer with record heatwaves and with the sea temperature well above average, meteorologists had already warned that autumn would be complicated. Cut-off roads, flooded tunnels, stopped subways and railways, cancelled planes, and thousands of private homes and public buildings with damage. When the recurrence of these phenomena was lower, perhaps it was reasonable not to consider certain investments to mitigate their effects, but now many things must be rethought. Halting public transport has a huge impact on lives and also has a significant cost for the economic fabric, especially in a metropolitan area like that of Barcelona. It would be good to know if the works being carried out at this time, for example the connection of the two FGC lines or the improvements to Rodalies, take into account the new climate scenario.
On the other hand, the same dilemma arises as with the DANA in Valencia. These days we are discovering that there are many flood-prone areas on which construction has taken place, and it is legitimate to ask whether the current flood maps are updated or not. This is a thorny issue because the effects of the climate emergency coincide in time with another emergency, the housing one, which demands releasing more land for construction. The administration is in charge of reconciling the two competing interests, so that the necessary acceleration of urban planning and building permits does not come at the expense of the safety of these constructions.
The only certain thing is that we will have to get used to living under the constant threat of extreme weather phenomena, and that everything must now be thought of from this logic, from infrastructure to housing and crops or industries. Therefore, the management of the effects of climate change should not be approached only as a matter of civil protection, but must run transversally through all the areas of the different administrations that govern us.