The president of the Generalitat, , pointed out this Monday that there are things that “concern” the Government and that they are the main priority in the review of economic activities that operate in risk areas that was announced last week. “If there are activities that, from the point of view of strict protocols, measures or alert systems, do not offer guarantees of protection for people, decisions will have to be made if appropriate, we have to study it, the task is done,” said the presidentwho opted to apply “common sense.” “Should we learn from it or not?” he asked himself and went so far as to use the expression “act drastically” if necessary. 42.7% (151) of the more than 350 Catalan establishments are located in flood-prone areas. The Catalan Camping Federation regretted that it had been pointed out to them and that “unnecessary alarm” had been generated. They remember that they have been working for years to manage possible risks and write Self-Protection Plans but, they say, “the administration has not been up to the task.” They request an urgent meeting with Illa to address the situation. In recent storms, such as , campsites in towns such as Malgrat, located in the delta of the Tordera River, were seriously flooded. And more recently, in , the water that came down a ravine hit the Els Alfacs campsite, which was open.
According to the rivers in the internal basins, there are 79 Flood Risk Sections (TRIs) that total almost 525 kilometers. The risk of flooding due to climate change is concentrated in the basins of large rivers, from the headwaters to the mouth and affects important population centers such as Barcelona, Girona, Tarragona or Manresa.
The Federation (FCC), which brings together two thirds of the existing establishments in Catalonia and has some 267,000 places, responds to the statements of the president Illa showing “concern about the lightheartedness with which the possible risks of flooding in Catalan campsites are being talked about.” The employers’ association considers that “an unnecessary alarm has been created with completely obsolete reports and not updated with the latest information from the hazard and zoning maps of the river space of the river basin district of Catalonia (MAPRI 2019), approved in July 2020 by the ACA.” In this sense, they recall that the sector has had a risk management commission for some time and regret that although flood risks affect many sectors and territories in highly populated urban areas, “the problem has been focused on the camping sector ”.
The FCC points out that, since 2015, it has been in talks with the administration to try to find solutions and achieve compatibility of uses and more efficient risk management and affirms that “the response has not been up to par.” In 2018, a technical instruction was prepared on drafting criteria for campsites located in flood zones, which has been modified four times until its latest version, April 2024. “During these six years, no Plan has been approved. of Self-Protection of a campsite located in a flood zone, despite all failed attempts,” he assures. For this reason, the employers’ association requests “speed and greater coordination between the ACA and when resolving the corresponding reports” and an urgent meeting with Illa so that the Government can address the analysis of these risks as quickly as possible with updated information and with the data that climate change entails.
Rivers and deltas, where the most vulnerable campsites are
The architect and deputy director of the Vallès school of architecture, post-catastrophic scenarios and collaborator of the firefighters, remembers that the most vulnerable campsites are those in river deltas, where flooding increases. As an example, the deltas of the Muga, Fluvià or Ter rivers, in Empordà, Ebre in , or the case of the Tordera delta. Precisely, the Malgrat campsites suffered serious damage during the Gloria storm in 2020. “The problem with campsites in deltas is that the water that comes down from the river cannot drain, because in a depression scenario the sea level rises and the waves They push the water, so that what comes down from the river cannot go out to the sea. If infrastructure, such as bridges or train lines, is also added, it makes it difficult for the water to escape,” he says. He adds that emergency management in storm scenarios is essential: “Notices, evacuation and the opening calendar. Fortunately, most are closed when most storms occur.” Finally, it distinguishes the vulnerability of camping facilities depending on whether they are “almost second-home cities, with bungalows and fixed structures,” or a totally temporary stay, where the land remains empty when closed to the public.
From Alcanar, the owner of Mario Gianni Macià, explains that after the destruction of 2021 they have acted on the facilities, “aligned with the City Council and in communication with the rest of the administrations.” The action consists of dividing the campsite into two parts and leaving a strip in the middle for the passage of water, a box, 18 meters wide. An action that will cost them 150,000 euros in total and for which they have European Leader funds and already have a building permit. “The loss of space will impact the business by 10%, but we have to understand that the scenario has changed,” he admits, while defending: “We have not stood by.”
Another flood-prone area with many campsites is the delta of the Tordera River, in , with about eight campsites on either side. Joan Aubanell, owner of the Mar campsite, affirms that as a result of Illa’s statements they are “concerned, because it is a hot area” but he trusts in his Flood Early Warning System (SATI) which so far “has worked very well” , informs Laura Claver. The SATI is installed in all the campsites in the area and monitors the weather, the river and the sea, and in case of maximum alarm, the establishments in the area have a protocol capable of evacuating all people in less than two hours. “We would like the administrations to roll up their sleeves and start working with us,” claims Aubanell, who denounces that the Plan de Motes presented by the Catalan Water Agency (ACA) has not materialized, with measures such as expanding the delta and rearranging the specks of the area, which were taken after the Gloria. The owner of the campsite also demands that the administrations keep the rivers and streams clear, and points out that during the storm the flow of the river overflowed through the dam that formed the accumulated vegetation, which demolished the bridge that connects Malgrat de Mar with Blanes. . For its part, the establishment has taken self-protection measures: in vulnerable technical areas, such as protecting the boiler room, the pool treatment plants, and raising the computers up to one and a half meters.
In 2019, the ACA identified fourteen riverine Areas of Significant Potential Risk of Floods (ARPSIs), and one riverine-pluvial area (in Tarragonès) that include a total of 79 Flood Risk Sections. The basin with the greatest extension of flood risk is the Ter-Daró with 102 kilometers, followed by the Muga with 76, the Besòs 75, the Llobregat 64 and the Tordera, 44. With smaller extensions are the Maresme streams and the metropolitan ones, and those of the northern and southern Costa Brava and the Francolí basin.
