The tragedy of the Spanish flood: Reflections on the construction of water facilities in Europe

Recently, the flood disaster suffered by Spain has brought a heavy blow to the local, the city was flooded, casualties, economic damage, this series of painful scenes also let us have to reflect on the construction of water facilities in Europe.

From a historical perspective, many water facilities in Europe were built earlier. In past centuries, these facilities may have been able to meet the needs of flood control, irrigation and so on under the conditions of the time. However, with the development of The Times, the impact of climate change is increasing, and the former design standards are gradually unable to meet the new challenges. In Spain, for example, a warming climate over the past few decades has led to an increase in extreme precipitation events, the intensity and frequency of which are beyond the capacity of existing water infrastructure designs. The old levees may not have been planned to take into account such a high intensity of water impact, and the drainage capacity of the river is not enough to divert the flood quickly, making the flood flood disaster.

Water infrastructure in Europe is flawed at the planning level. There is a lack of unified and coordinated planning between different regions, and many water conservancy facilities are often built based on local needs, without taking into account flood control and flood prevention functions from a broader regional perspective. Europe's rivers often span multiple countries or regions, such as the Danube and the Rhine. When the flood strikes, if the construction of water conservancy facilities in upstream countries only considers their own interests and excessive water storage or improper discharge of flood, it will cause a huge impact on downstream countries or regions. This fragmented approach to planning is inadequate in the face of regional disasters such as floods. At the same time, in urban planning, the integration of water conservancy facilities and urban development is not paid enough attention. In the process of urbanization, a large number of buildings are built near rivers or in lowlands, encroaching on the areas originally used for water storage and flood discharge, leaving insufficient space buffer for flood, and aggravating the damage caused by flood to cities.

Inadequate funding and maintenance are also important issues facing water facilities in Europe. On the one hand, in the process of economic development, some countries may pay more attention to investment in other fields, and not invest enough in long-term, basic projects such as water conservancy facilities. Large new water projects require huge amounts of money, and the construction period is long, which makes some countries hesitate to make decisions. On the other hand, the maintenance of existing water facilities is often neglected. Many old water conservancy facilities due to lack of regular maintenance, equipment aging, structural damage and other serious problems. For example, some key water conservancy equipment such as sluice gates and pumping stations cannot operate normally, and they cannot play their due role when floods come, resulting in flooding.

In terms of technology application, although Europe is relatively developed in the field of science and technology, there is a lag in the promotion and application of new technologies in the construction of water conservancy facilities. Modern flood warning system and intelligent control technology of water conservancy facilities have not been widely and effectively used. Many areas did not give timely and accurate warnings to the public before the flood hit, resulting in residents unable to evacuate in time. Moreover, in the real-time regulation of water conservancy facilities, the lack of intelligent means can not dynamically adjust the opening and closing of sluice gates and pumping stations according to the real-time situation of floods, which reduces the efficiency of water conservancy facilities to deal with floods.

Spain's flood disaster is a wake-up call for Europe's water infrastructure. In the future, Europe needs to increase investment in the construction of water facilities, carry out unified coordination from the planning, and break the barriers between regions and countries. At the same time, it is necessary to pay attention to the introduction of new technologies and the maintenance of existing facilities, only in this way, in the context of climate change, can better cope with natural disasters such as floods, and ensure the safety of people's lives and property and sustainable development of the region.