Weathering the storm: An urban resilience revolution

The escalating frequency and intensity of natural disasters directly affect urban areas, necessitating the urgent implementation of adaptive strategies to enhance their resilience in this rapidly evolving scenario. Unlike the time when cities were originally designed, they now face a significantly different reality, requiring innovative approaches to tackle the multifaceted challenges posed by climate change. Therefore, it becomes crucial to focus climate change adaptation (CCA) measures on mitigating potential impacts, enhancing preparedness, and reducing exposure and vulnerability across social, economic, and environmental systems.

In this context, the European Commission has funded projects focused on urban adaptation through various calls. Among the successful ventures in implementing a market-ready solution on this subject is LIFE BAETULO, a pilot initiative in Badalona, Spain.

At its core, the project aims to introduce an Integrated Early Warning System that effectively mitigates climate-related hazards through a platform to be used by crisis managers and a mobile app ready to warn citizens about any possible risk. By empowering the population with self-protection measures, the project aims to foster resilience and enhance the city's ability to cope with climate challenges effectively.

"The novelty of the solution created by LIFE BAETULO lies in its ability to address not just one, but up to nine different types of climate hazards. These include heat waves, cold waves, snowfalls and wind episodes, wildfires, maritime storms, and atmospheric contamination, providing a holistic, versatile and effective response to these environmental challenges", states Montse Martínez (Aquatec), LIFE BAETULO project coordinator.

At the heart of LIFE BAETULO lies a comprehensive approach involving continuous monitoring, risk assessment, preparedness, and communication.

The LIFE BAETULO solution functions as an advanced system designed to safeguard a city from various threats related to adverse weather conditions. It offers a virtual interface that's used by local and regional crisis managers. These individuals, who oversee civil protection matters or public health services, are responsible for taking the required measures to ensure the safety of the city's or region's residents. As you explore further, you'll see that the whole system functions smoothly, just like a team where different members collaborate effectively.

The first part of this system is the data gathering module, acting as the platform’s “ears and eyes”. It collects real-time information and weather forecasting from sources outside the system using sensors, cameras, and models. For example, in the Badalona area, there are 88 sensors and 6 climate services connected to this module. These sensors help keep an eye on things like water levels to prevent flooding of the sewers and weather stations to measure variables like temperature, wind, and rain.

The next part is the risk assessment module, which is like the smart thinking part of the system. It checks the information it has gathered, and compares it against certain levels that indicate if there's a potential hazard. Depending on the seriousness, it sends out different kinds of alerts, pre-alerts, alerts or emergency notifications. This module also figures out which parts of the city might be at risk. It uses maps to show where the hazards are, such as buildings or places that could be affected.

The preparedness and response module represents the platform's "hands," activating and automating emergency protocols for each climate hazard. It presents predefined preventive or reactive actions and responsible departments for each alert level, allowing users to review pending activities and responsibilities quickly. For example, it can show a checklist of things to do and assign duties to different departments to ensure a coordinated response.

Lastly, the community can get alerts through a user-friendly mobile app to alert citizens about climate events that works on both Android and iOS devices. This climate events app gives important information and general advice to help people deal with any hazards that might be happening. By checking the app for climate events, individuals can stay updated and take the right steps to stay safe. This helps make the community safer and more ready to handle any problems that might come up.

Badalona, a vibrant Mediterranean city with over 223,000 inhabitants, nestled along the eastern coast of Catalonia, Spain, has been chosen as the ideal pilot site for the transformative LIFE BAETULO project. The name "Baetulo" derives from the ancient Roman-founded city of Badalona, showcasing its historical significance.

The project reinforces Badalona's existing climate change adaptation efforts, which began with its commitment to the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy in 2008 and furthered by its involvement in the prior H2020 BINGO project from 2015 to 2019.

Being a coastal city in the Mediterranean region, Badalona is no stranger to climate-related hazards, including heatwaves, flooding, combined sewer overflows, and storm surges. The previous H2020 BINGO project revealed the substantial impacts of medium to high-intensity storms, resulting in estimated annual damages of around 2.5 million euros.

Among the hardest-hit areas were the beaches, the marina, and the road infrastructures, subjected to towering waves reaching up to 6 meters in height.

However, the most enduring image of the storm's impact was the breakage of a remarkable landmark, the Pont del Petroli (Petroli’s bridge). Due to the technical intricacies involved in its repair, the Pont del Petroli remains unrepaired today, standing as a stark reminder of the immense challenges in restoring critical infrastructure after such extreme weather events.

The recent memories of the Gloria Storm at the time somehow influenced the LIFE BAETULO project even though it started some months later (July 2020). In this context, implementing an early warning system emerged as the most cost-effective adaptation measure among the analysed options, including structural investment in critical infrastructures such as the sewer system. By doing so, the project aimed to anticipate incidents, reduce exposure and vulnerability to such events, and ultimately minimise damages and impacts on the urban area and its inhabitants.

"When comparing benefit and cost values, we obtain a benefit-cost ratio of the order of 14 units," reveals Montse Martínez, the project coordinator of LIFE BAETULO.

"We have already presented the LIFE BAETULO project to several cities and regions in Spain, and our next goal is to expand its reach to other European locations," announces Montse Martinez. "Furthermore, if there is a new European call for projects that align with our objectives, we are open to incorporating additional modules to enhance the solution and its effectiveness further", she adds.