Identifying urban prone areas to flash floods: The case of Santa Cruz de Tenerife

This paper analyzes the causes involved in the flood hazard in the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Floods are the natural hazard that causes the largest annual losses in the world Urban expansion and population growth have made cities the most hazardous areas, mainly due to poor planning, occupation of the drainage network and soil sealing. Santa Cruz de Tenerife is one of the many cities worldwide threatened by this phenomenon.

This paper has shown, there are 1023 damage points scattered throughout the city. Lack of or insufficient drainage capacity is the most repeated issue. This is related to the construction of insufficient drainage works to evacuate maximum flood flows, highlighting the clear need to combine non-structural quality measures, such as hazard analysis (calculation of return periods and maximum flows), and structural measures (i.e. the construction of drainage works) based on scientific criteria.