Author(s): Montserrat Llasat-Botija; Maria Carmen Llasat; Raul Marcos-Matamoros; Maria Aguilera Vidal; Marc Sanuy; Herminia I. Valdemoro; Salvador Castan; Jose A. Jimenez
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: 1. Introduction Floods are the natural hazard with the greatest impact in the Mediterranean area. Since 1900, they have caused more than 85 billion euros in damages (MEDECC, 2021). Sometimes this hazard does not occur in isolation but together with other hazards such as sea storms, snowfalls or landslides. When these hazards affect different areas simultaneously, or when several of them occur in a common time interval, they are referred to as compound events. According to Zscheischler et al. (2020), four types of compound events can be distinguished: preconditioned, multivariate, temporally compounding and spatially compounding. A paradigmatic case of compound events is Gloria storm. From January 19 to 25,2020, it ravaged the Spanish Mediterranean coast, leaving a lasting impact due to its unprecedented magnitude and simultaneous array of hazards. This multi-compound event brought heavy rainfall, floods, high winds, sea storm, surge and even snow across the Mediterranean Spanish coast. From all of this, the storm Gloria stands as a prime illustration of complex compound events. Its multi-hazard nature, the cumulative and enhanced impacts, and the diverse requirements for disaster management -both during and after the event- underscore its significance as a state-of-the-art example. Thus, it exhibited characteristics of preconditioned, multivariate, temporally and spatially compound events, along with cascading effects.
Year: 2024