Natural hazard events dataset for the Garrotxa Region (Catalonia, Spain): a foundational step toward multi-hazard risk assessment

Abstract

Data-driven approaches are increasingly essential for understanding complex, interacting natural hazards. We present a natural hazard events dataset compiling all documented occurrences of earthquakes, landslides, rockfalls, floods, wildfires, and ground subsidences in the Garrotxa region (Catalonia, Spain) between 1900 and 2023. The dataset integrates inventoried, written, and oral sources, including official inventories, historical press, scientific literature, and citizen-science contributions, which were processed and cross-validated to remove duplication and inconsistencies. A total of 1049 events were compiled. A simple exploratory analysis illustrates the potential of the dataset for multi-hazard interaction and hazard–meteorological associations. Comparison with national and international repositories (e.g., EM-DAT, SHELDUS, Risk Data Hub) shows that this dataset provides higher spatial resolution and includes locally validated records absent elsewhere. The study therefore contributes both a new regional data resource and a workflow for compiling and validating heterogeneous hazard data, supporting future susceptibility and multi-hazard risk analyses in this and other regions.