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Date Published: 16/11/2021
ARCHIVED - Early warning system for floods in Alicante province
New Smart River Basins technology will offer real-time information to municipalities in the Vega Baja to prevent the devastating effects of extreme weather conditions
A pioneering early warning system for floods has been activated by Alicante Provincial Council and water company Hidraqua, to help local authorities in the Vega Baja manage extreme weather conditions such as Gota Frías and limit the devastating impact.
The aim of the tool, called Smart River Basins and one of the first systems of its kind in Spain, is to provide information to 27 town councils to improve their response capacity and thus mitigate the destructive effects of phenomena such as the DANA storm which devastated the region in 2019.
President of the provincial council, Carlos Mazón, revealed the new digital system on Friday November 12, and highlighted its potential "both for prevention and land planning".
"This state-of-the-art tool, thanks to public-private collaboration, is available to all the municipalities of the Vega Baja free of charge so that, on the one hand, they can improve forecasting and response to floods, and thus save lives, facilities or crops, and, on the other hand, plan the territory more adequately," he said during a presentation at the Provincial Palace.
The Smart River Basins platform can also serve as a reference for other administrations, such as the central and regional governments, and Hydrographic Confederations, to adopt the proposals, solutions and forecasts offered.
"The important thing is that these administrations get going, that they listen to what is happening in the province of Alicante thanks to this type of tool that tells us what needs to be done and what, unfortunately, is still not being done," added Mazón.
Meanwhile, CEO of Agbar group, which owns Hidraqua, explained that "thanks to Smart River Basins, made entirely using Spanish technology, we can measure the impacts of extreme rainfall, identifying the facilities that may be critical, such as schools, residences and hospitals that may be affected."
"Once the emergency management has been overcome and evaluated, it also helps to analyse the aspects that need to be improved and the investments that need to be made."
The Smart River Basins system incorporates real data, predictions, algorithms and numerical models, and can predict weather phenomena two hours in advance with a reliability of 87%.
Image: Ayuntamiento de Orihuela
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