Abstract
The dependence between variables plays a central role in multivariate extremes. In this paper, spatial dependence of Madeira Island's rainfall data is addressed within an extreme value copula approach through an analysis of maximum annual data. The impact of altitude, slope orientation, distance between rain gauge stations and distance from the stations to the sea are investigated for two different periods of time. The results obtained highlight the influence of the island's complex topography on the spatial distribution of extreme rainfall in Madeira Island.
Highlights
In mountainous regions, such as the high, steep mountains and deep valleys of Madeira Island, extreme rainfall can trigger flash floods (Spreafico, 2006), landslides and debris flows (Kalvoda and Rosenfeld, 1998; Rodrigues and Ayala-Caicedo, 2003), during the wet season
Floods and associated landslides and debris-flows triggered by extreme rainfall events have been in reality the most devastating of
Madeira Island has in its history a significant number of rainfallinduced flash floods, landslides and debris flows
Summary
In mountainous regions, such as the high, steep mountains and deep valleys of Madeira Island, extreme rainfall can trigger flash floods (Spreafico, 2006), landslides and debris flows (Kalvoda and Rosenfeld, 1998; Rodrigues and Ayala-Caicedo, 2003), during the wet season. Rare, such events can have significant impacts on the local natural environment and disastrous consequences for the affected communities and populations (Woo and Jones, 2002). Already in the 21st century, two significant events of this type were registered in Madeira Island, the first in March 2001, with five deaths and material damages of several tens of million euros (Rodrigues and Ayala-Caicedo, 2003), and the second one in February 2010, which caused 45 casualties, six missed people, more than a hundred injured and about 1.4 billion euros of material losses (Baioni, 2011; Fragoso et al, 2012), which indicate an increase in the frequency of such events and in the damage caused by them
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