The flood of October 9, 2018 in the city centre of Sant Llorenç des Cardassar (Mallorca)

Abstract

Since the 1940s, the city centre of Sant Llorenç des Cardassar has suffered from several flooding episodes from the several tributaries of ca n’Amer creek. Five lives lost and a significant impact on the population were the result of the most relevant flood in the series that occurred in 2018. In this paper, an analysis of the historical relationship of the village with floods, the answer provided by the administration to those floods, and the geographic setting and the anthropic actions on the land are considered. Using the data collected by direct observation, witnesses, and graphs and fieldwork, a thorough investigation of the volume, flow, direction and levels of water has been developed. This translates into an exhaustive mapping of the event, discriminating the hydraulic behaviour in each of the affected roads and showing the sequential development of the flood. Flooding is a combination of severe stream flows, avulsion processes and angular sections that combine with infraestructures that interfere with the flow direction and prevent its reintegration into the main channel and where the streets become active channels.

Exploring a Mallorca cave flooding during the Little Ice Age using nondestructive techniques on a stalagmite: micro-CT and XRF core scanning

“…On October 9, 2018, an extreme rain event occurred in Mallorca, resulting in a severe flood due to the high intensity and amount of precipitation. The flood took place on the eastern coastline of the island, affecting the municipalities of Sant Llorenç des Cardassar, Artà, and to a lesser extent, Capdepera and Manacor, and was the most severe flood occurring in Sant Llorenç in the last 80 yr (Grimalt-Gelabert et al, 2021; Fig. 1b).…”

“…( b ) Distribution of the superficial hydrology of Mallorca Island; streams are indicated in blue and watersheds in red (adapted from Grimalt-Gelabert et al, 2020). Location of Sa Balma des Quartó cave is indicated as well as the municipalities most affected by the severe flood that occurred on October 9, 2018 (Grimalt-Gelabert et al, 2021). ( c ) Topography of Sa Balma des Quartó cave (Bermejo et al, 2014).…”

“…Sa Balma des Quartó cave is dominated by seepage flow (Cisneros et al, 2021). Despite that, evidence of episodic water flows has been observed in one side of the cave after the extreme rain event that occurred during autumn 2018 in Mallorca Island (Grimalt-Gelabert et al, 2021, 2020; Fig. 2).…”

“…Although the total annual precipitation in the Balearic region is decreasing, the contribution of minimum and maximum daily precipitation (in respect to the average: up to 4 mm and above 64 mm, respectively) to the yearly total is increasing (Homar et al, 2010). During the last few decades, intense rain events in the western Mediterranean Basin have caused numerous catastrophic floods in several countries, with human casualties (Pastor et al, 2001), like those during autumn 2018 in Mallorca Island (Grimalt-Gelabert et al, 2020, 2021). Studying past extreme events can be useful in dealing with the coming challenges as consequences of global warming.…”

El paisaje de la emergencia: las lluvias de septiembre de 2019 en la Comunidad Valenciana

“…Sin embargo, en un contexto de episodios extremos, cada vez son más los problemas originados por las lluvias in situ (Caballero-López y Camarasa-Belmonte, 2020), por la aceleración en los tiempos de respuesta de ramblas y barrancos (Camarasa-Belmonte, 2021;Grimalt et al, 2021) o por comportamientos irresponsables derivados de una deficiente percepción del riesgo (Perles, 2004;Saurí et al, 2010;Moreno y Romero, 2013;Ramos et al, 2014;Torró et al, 2019;Nebot et al, 2021).…”