spanish river scene

Ambiental and Gamma LI analysis highlights the Spanish regions most at risk of flooding

In Insurance, Insurance News, News by Stephanie Brain

Ambiental and Gamma LI analysis highlights
the Spanish regions most at risk of flooding

Gamma Location Intelligence (Gamma LI) is showcasing the value of its move to expand into the Spanish market, by analysing Ambiental's climate data for Spain through its Perilfinder™ platform, published in its newly released whitepaper, Flooding in Spain: Present and Future.

The software enables insurance companies and local authorities to assess location risk for properties including flooding, fire, subsidence, and crime – to reveal provinces in Spain most at risk of flooding.

Ambiental’s flood and climate data is used to visualise, assess, and understand current and future flood risks. We have flood datasets across Europe, modelled using our proven flood simulation software and high-quality topographical information.

Gamma Location Intelligence showing flood risk for buildings in Cartagena, Murcia overlaid on flood risk raster data on Gamma LI’s Perilfinder platform.

Areas of flood risk using Ambiental data for buildings in Cartagena. Murcia overlaid on flood risk raster data on Gamma LI’s Perilfinder platform.

Climate change and the risk of flooding

Climate change will impact the Balearics, as the five islands are at increasing risk of permanent loss of land. It is expected to cause widespread ecological and economic impacts, especially in the urban and densely populated areas of the islands. Additionally, climate change could increase the intensity of waves and storm surges, causing severe economic impact and the loss of tourist areas.

The loss of tourist recreational services represents a GDP loss up to 7.2% with respect to the 2019 GDP. Up to 65% of the beach area in the Balearic Islands will be permanently lost due to the climate crisis. During storms conditions, up to 80% of beaches could be lost.

 The whitepaper is Ambiental’s second collaboration with Gamma after releasing a UK version in 2020. The analysis makes for interesting reading, not only highlighting the provinces with the highest risk ratings per property, but also revealing which provinces have the highest expected annual loss from flood risk based on properties at risk and the estimated average damages incurred from flooding.

Rob Carling, Channel Sales Manager at Ambiental, said: “As world leaders at the COP27 conference draw their discussions around climate change mitigation and adaptation to a close this week, it is remarkable that Spain has suffered significantly from extreme weather events over the last few years. Storm Filomena in January 2021 was a once-in-a-century snowfall for large areas of Spain, and this summer, Spain experienced unseasonably high temperatures of 50ºC. This extreme weather in Spain has resulted in many instances of flooding across the country over the last two years, with more than ten such events reported by Floodlist for Spain, from the Northern Cantabria and Basque regions to Murcia and Valencia in the South.

For more information on the analysis regarding Spain, view the full article on the Gamma website here.

Contact Rob Carling for more information about the new opportunities to understand the climate risk to properties in Spain and other parts of Europe
E: rob.carling@rhdhv.com

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