When the Rain Won’t Stop and Preparedness Falls Short
By Jaime Amoedo ?? The Sustainability Coach , Executive Director, The ESG Institute
Over 200 lives have been lost—children cradled in their parents' arms, elderly residents trapped in homes, drivers unable to escape rising waters. The scenes throughout Spain, especially in Valencia and Albacete, are heartbreaking. Across the nation and beyond, people are coming to grips with the magnitude of what has happened. Today, we mourn not just the lost lives but also the communities shattered, homes destroyed, and futures changed forever.
This week, a staggering 500 liters of rain per square meter fell in Valencia—a year’s worth of rain in a single day. Rivers and reservoirs swelled, breaking through their banks and overwhelming neighborhoods that were unprepared for such a deluge. Homes, businesses, and cherished places lie submerged, caked in mud and debris. Skeptics may argue that devastating floods have occurred here before, pointing to the infamous 1957 Valencia flood. But while extreme weather events are not new, their frequency and intensity are unmistakably escalating, fueled by climate change.
Comparing the 1957 flood with today’s catastrophe highlights key differences. The intensity of recent rainfall and the scope of destruction make this event even more severe than previous records. A study from World Weather Attribution, for example, found that human-induced climate change has made extreme storms like this one in Spain about 12% more intense and twice as likely to occur. Climate scientists have been clear—higher sea temperatures and increased atmospheric moisture are amplifying storms like the DANA that tore through Spain this week. Unlike decades past, we now face storms not only in rare, isolated instances but with alarming regularity.
"Climate change is expected to make these systems more intense because of warmer sea waters and increasing moisture in the atmosphere" - Omar Baddour, chief of Climate Monitoring at the World Meteorological Organization .
As an advocate for sustainability, I find myself reflecting on these scientific warnings, which we can no longer afford to ignore. The Mediterranean region, where sea temperatures are rising faster than the global ocean average, is becoming a hotspot for extreme weather events. This year’s floods echo recent floods worldwide—in Central Africa, the U.S., and beyond. The evidence is mounting: these tragedies aren’t isolated but interconnected signals that we must act with urgency.
But as we sift through the aftermath, it’s impossible to ignore a harsh reality. Spain’s early warning systems were not enough. People were caught off guard, with little time to react. Emergency resources were stretched, and communities felt the full force of the storm without the protection they needed. At The ESG Institute , our experts are here to help guide businesses and governments in building resilience and preparedness, making the crucial difference between vulnerability and strength in the face of climate challenges.
What can we learn from this disaster? First, we must strengthen our early warning systems. Technology exists that can predict and alert us to these storms with greater accuracy, but it needs investment and infrastructure to be effective. Secondly, we must build resilience into our cities and communities. This means reinforcing infrastructure—bridges, roads, water systems—so they don’t buckle under pressure. And it means educating our citizens on the steps they can take when disaster strikes.
Finally, as we look forward to #COP29, the call for global leaders to prioritise adaptation is more urgent than ever. We can no longer treat climate change as a distant threat; it is real, it is here, reshaping our world now. It is my hope that leaders will act boldly, recognising that lives depend on their commitment to adaptation and resilience.
This catastrophe in Spain should be a turning point. We cannot let it be a memory we push aside once the waters recede. This must be a moment of action, of commitment to a safer, more prepared future. Nothing will ever be the same again. And for the sake of our world, nothing should.
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