Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: . This paper shows the results of the analysis on the first systematic dataset of flood episodes referred to the entire Pyrenees massif, named PIRAGUA_flood, which covers the period 1981–2015 (available at http://hdl.handle.net/10261/270351). First, the structure of the database is detailed, so that it can be reproduced anywhere else in the world adapting to the specific nature of each situation. Subsequently, the paper addresses the spatial and temporal distribution of flood episodes and events (including trends) that affected the Pyrenees regions of Spain (Catalonia, Aragon, Navarre, the Basque Country), France (Nouvelle Aquitaine, Occitanie) and Andorra, as well as the massif as a whole, for a given period of time. In the case of the Spanish regions, it was also possible to analyse the compensation paid out made by the Spanish Insurance Compensation Consortium, and the number of deceased. The weather types associated with flood episodes were also classified based on sea level pressure and 500 hPa geopotential height from ERA5. The results show 181 flood events and 154 fatalities, some of which affected more than one region. In the Spanish part of the Pyrenees, between 1996 and 2015, there were a total compensation payout amounting to € 142.5 million2015. The eastern part of the area records more flood events than the western one, being Catalonia the community that registered the highest number of events, followed by Andorra and Occitanie. Associated weather types are dominated by southern component flow over the Pyrenees region, with a thalweg on the Iberian Peninsula and a depression in the vicinity, either in the Atlantic or in the Mediterranean. In terms of the entire massif, there is a slight positive trend of 0.84 events/decade, driven by the evolution of ordinary and extraordinary floods, but not significant at 95 %. At a regional level, flood behaviour is more heterogeneous, although not significant for the most part. Nouvelle Aquitanie is the only region that shows a positive and significant trend of 0.34 events/decade.
Language: English
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Climate action
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,553
Awards: G1175115578, G121809054, G1855990336, G1969579014, G2064873908, G210041235, G2262748287, G2309174360, G2462415295, G2601397997, G2660406951, G279363373, G2920696644, G3005324705, G300979063, G34346518, G3480869486, G3518538256, G3546882995, G3681454997, G3729418213, G4042783231, G425668148, G430777504, G4427256036, G4526231891, G5080475149, G5195188938, G5421974903, G5805502524, G69051668, G691412782, G6933034759, G7084143925, G897484643, G99296377
OpenAlex ID: W4403198273