The 2024 Spain Floods: A Call for Resilience and the Duty of Memory
Periklis Charalampous, Niko Speybroeck, Joris Adriaan Frank van Loenhout, Gurvan Pluen, Damien Delforge
Abstract
Flood disasters stem from complex interac8ons of environmental and human factors. In Spain, as in much of Europe, floods o^en coincide with other hazards like storms, landslides, or infrastructure failures, causing significant economic and human loss. Preven8ng future disasters requires understanding the interplay of exposure, vulnerability, and capacity, alongside effec8ve risk communica8on throughout all stages of disaster management, from emergency response to public awareness. Advancements over recent decades, such as the United Na8ons' 2015-2030 Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduc8on 5 , the European Union's 2007 Flood Direc8ve 6 , and tools like the European Flood Awareness System 7 have improved preparedness and early warning capabili8es.However, flood risks con8nue to grow, necessita8ng stronger evidence-based prac8ces. Databases such as the Emergency Events Database 3,8 and HANZE 9 , are invaluable for analysing past events and iden8fying links between human, economic and environmental factors.The 2024 Spain Flood is stark reminder of the need to nurture a culture of proac8ve risk management, a commitment already established 35 years ago during the 1990 Interna8onal Decade for Natural