Characterization of extreme flash floods in Mediterranean Spain

Show simple item record

dc.contributor.author A. Amengual
dc.date.accessioned 2025-04-11T10:45:13Z
dc.identifier.citation Amengual, A. (2025). Characterization of extreme flash floods in Mediterranean Spain. Journal of Hydrology. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.133229 ca
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/11201/169946
dc.description.abstract [eng] Flash floods are the most destructive natural hazard in the Spanish Mediterranean region, causing substantial fatalities and economic losses. However, characterizing these events has been challenging due to the lack of a comprehensive database. This study aims to fill this gap by collating and analyzing data using established methodologies. The analysis is divided into two parts. The first part examines extreme daily rainfall regimes in the Mediterranean and semi-arid climatic zones during the extended warm season. It then analyses primary data from 99 flash floods to identify spatial and temporal distributions and derive envelope curves. The spatial and temporal patterns of severe flash flooding closely mirror those of extreme daily precipitation amount. The envelopes curves are consistent with those from other regions. In semi-arid basins, flash floods exhibit higher magnitudes than those in Mediterranean watersheds, but the envelope curve declines more steeply with increasing drainage, reflecting differences in climatic and physiographic factors. The second part focuses on 13 major flash floods for which high-resolution hydrometeorological data are available. These events are characterized based on climate, morphology, precipitation, runoff ratio, lag time, and flashiness. The results align with previous findings regarding relief ratio, rainfall characteristics, and flashiness. However, event runoff coefficients in Mediterranean Spain are lower than in other European regions due to initially large soil storage capacities, which extend lag times in smaller drainage areas. At larger scales, flow hydraulics result in lag times that fall below the lower bound of the European envelope curve. These datasets and findings contribute to the development of a more comprehensive European flash flood database and offer valuable insights for improving flash flood risk management in Mediterranean Spain. en
dc.format application/pdf en
dc.publisher Elsevier
dc.relation.ispartof Journal of Hydrology, 2025
dc.rights all rights reserved
dc.subject.classification 55 - Geologia. Meteorologia
dc.subject.other 55 - Earth sciences. Geological sciences
dc.title Characterization of extreme flash floods in Mediterranean Spain en
dc.type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.type info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion
dc.type Article
dc.date.updated 2025-04-11T10:45:14Z
dc.date.embargoEndDate info:eu-repo/date/embargoEnd/2027-04-01
dc.date.embargoEndDate info:eu-repo/date/embargoEnd/2027-04-01
dc.embargo 2027-04-01
dc.rights.accessRights info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess
dc.identifier.doi https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.133229


Files in this item

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record

Search Repository


Advanced Search

Browse

My Account

Statistics