Orihuela at a glance:
Orihuela, located in the Province of Alicante in Spain’s Valencian Community, is one of the country’s largest municipalities, covering an area of 367 km². The municipality stretches from a historic city centre through extensive rural areas to the Mediterranean coastline known as Orihuela Costa, and is home to approximately 82,000 inhabitants. Situated in the lower Segura River basin, Orihuela is particularly vulnerable to flooding, which poses a recurring risk to people, infrastructure, and economic activities. In addition, the area is exposed to medium to medium-high seismic hazard, placing it among the regions with the highest earthquake risk in Spain.
Key challenges:
- Outdated risk assumptions mean that flood assessments rely on generic design storms and return periods that fail to reflect Orihuela’s complex, multi-basin flood dynamics.
- Invalid response planning results from static evacuation zones and pre-defined procedures that often do not match rapidly evolving flood conditions.
- No real-time adaptation arises from gaps in timely, cross-sector information, constraining adaptive response, effective communication, and informed decision-making during flood events.
The TOGETHER Way Forward:
- Real-time flood assessment integrates real-time modelling, weather forecasts, and field data to deliver reliable dynamic hazard maps reflecting actual conditions.
- Dynamic evacuation planning uses real-time hazard information to update safe routes and deliver instant guidance to responders and the public.
- Integrated, two-way communication platforms connect field units and command centres in real time, enabling adaptive and informed emergency response to disaster management organisations and the public.
Stakeholders involved:
- DRMIH lead: Municipality of Orihuela
- Partners: Disaster management agencies, Civil protection, First responders, Local Police, University
The first Living Lab in Orihuela
Check out more about the first LL in Orihuela!