Flood spatial location in a Mediterranean coastal city: Ibiza (Balearic Islands) from 2000 to 2021

Abstract

Floods are a common occurrence in the Western Mediterranean basin, causing daily life disturbances, economic impacts and fatalities as the population living near the Mediterranean shores face a great risk. The city of Ibiza has been historically affected by floods of different magnitudes. After almost three decades without large events, with the 1977 flood being the latest, 20 floods have been identified within the city boundaries since the beginning of the 21st century, causing a great social impact. The aim of the research herein presented is to identify the locations of floods and their possible causes. The methodology is based on a comprehensive survey of newspapers articles and technical reports, thus allowing mapping of the location of the events over a city map. Among the causes, there are the lack of a runoff network and deficient infrastructure planning. Regarding the spatial distribution of floods, the most affected areas are the circumvallation freeways around the city and the neighborhoods urbanized after the 1960's. The results highlight the importance of the urban sprawl and malpractices related to flood risk areas, which increase the occurrence of floods. Moreover, the identification of the most affected areas can help city planners to create prevention measures and systems to reduce flood hazards and vulnerability.

Keywords

• floods
• spatial distribution
• mediterranean sea
• urbanization impact