Enhancing Coastal Flooding Preparedness To Climate Change: An Experimental Analysis Of Urban-Integrated Non-Conventional Adaptation Solutions

Abstract

Coastal areas are particularly vulnerable to climate change due to their exposure to mean sea-level rise and an intensification in the frequency and intensity of extreme events. Among the most vulnerable areas in Europe are the coastal urban areas of the Macaronesia Islands territories, since they are characterized with urban settlements in low land areas, being highly exposed to flooding. Within the scope of sustainable development and at the same time with the aim of increasing resilience in these areas, the development of a new methodological framework for implementing risk reduction and adaptation measures in coastal flood-prone areas is being applied with the framework of the LIFE-Garachico project (Tenerife, Spain). One of proposed adaptation options is the implementation of concrete blocks in the form of a bench to be disposed along the municipality seafront with the aim of reducing the impact of water sheets into building, generated by wave overtopping. This study presents the results obtained by means of a hybrid numerical and experimental technique to define the hydraulic performance of different bench configuration. Results are included in a global methodology to define the optimum time to implement this solution due to the consideration of different climate change scenarios.