Flood hazards in Extremadura and associated impacts

Abstract

Floods are one of the natural hazards with the greatest human, economic, and environmental impact, causing the loss of more than 8,000 lives in Europe alone in the last century. In Spain, the economic costs associated with floods over the last 40 years are estimated at more than €5.5 billion. The main objective of this work is to deepen our knowledge of floods in Extremadura, both from the perspective of the spatial impact of the affected areas and the impacts associated with them. The study has been carried out from a qualitative and descriptive-analytical methodology, using geographic information systems to map, quantify, and analyse the variables related to floods and risk management. The results indicate that in Extremadura the surface area considered 'high risk' affects 30,000 ha and nearly 19,000 ha are in a situation of 'frequent risk', while the socio-economic analysis of the risk shows that irrigated areas concentrate the largest surface area categorised as 'high risk'. It is also concluded that the Guadiana River Basin in Extremadura has a higher risk of flooding (70%) than the Tagus River Basin (30%).