Short note on the mapping of heritage sites impacted by the 2024 floods in Valencia, Spain

TL;DR

This note evaluates rapid assessment of cultural heritage vulnerability to climate-driven floods in Valencia using open data sources. It overlays Copernicus flood maps with heritage coordinates from OpenStreetMap and Generalitat Valenciana to identify potentially affected sites, flagging assets within $10\,\mathrm{m}$ of the flood extent. It finds that $3.3\%$ of regional heritage assets may be impacted, with the largest counts in churches/shrines ($81$), outdoor religious iconography ($78$), and historic irrigation features ($45$). The study highlights limitations of crowd-sourced data for detailed damage assessment but demonstrates value for rapid proportion estimates, suggesting an approximate sample size of $1120$ locations is needed for a $\pm 1\%$ margin at $95\%$ CI in regional comparisons, and establishes a data-driven foundation for field validation and future vulnerability work.

Abstract

This short note presents preliminary findings on the impact of the October 2024 floods on cultural heritage sites in Valencia, Spain. Using publicly available data, we assess the extent of potential damage by overlaying flood maps with heritage site coordinates. We identify that 3.3% of heritage sites in the region have been potentially impacted, with churches and shrines (81), outdoor religious iconography (78), and historic irrigation features (45) being the most heavily affected. Our analysis utilizes data from OpenStreetMap and listings from the Generalitat Valenciana, suggesting that while OpenStreetMap's crowd-sourced data can provide useful estimates of the proportion of impacted sites, it may not be suitable for a detailed damage assessment. By sharing this data openly, we aim to contribute to international efforts in preserving cultural heritage after the disaster and provide a foundation for future assessments of heritage site vulnerability to climate-related events.

Figures (4)

• Figure 1: Map of the region of Valencia
• Figure 2: Map of the region of Valencia with zoom to illustrate the ability of the GIS dataset to locate and label specific sites for inspection.
• Figure 3: Map of Horta Sud
• Figure 4: Map of Algemies