Vide et al. (2018) The 1962 flash flood in the Rubí stream (Barcelona, Spain)

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Hydrology
• Year: 2018
• Date: 2018-09-12
• Authors: Juan Pedro Martín Vide, María Carmen Llasat
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.09.028

Research Groups

• Technical University of Catalonia – BarcelonaTech, Barcelona, Spain
• Department of Applied Physics, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
• Institute of Water Research (IdRA), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

Short Summary

This paper re-evaluates the 1962 Rubí flash flood, Spain's deadliest, by synthesizing existing information to clarify that while not an outlier in standard hydrological metrics, its extreme flood levels were primarily driven by massive sediment transport in a steep, ephemeral stream.

Objective

• To comprehensively review and synthesize information regarding the 1962 Rubí flash flood, clarify misunderstandings about its extremity, and highlight the critical role of sediment transport in its devastating impact, thereby elevating its recognition as an international case study.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Rubí stream basin, Western county of Vallés, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
• Temporal Scale: The 1962 Rubí flash flood event (25 September 1962), with historical context of flash flood events in Catalonia from 1900 to 2015.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Torrential calculation based on the momentum principle in a control volume.
• Data sources: Publications commemorating the 50th anniversary of the flood (proxy data for social aspects), reviewed meteorological and pluviometric information, grey literature, and flood marks for discharge computation.

Main Results

• The 1962 Rubí flash flood was the most severe in Spain, causing over 800 fatalities, primarily due to high human vulnerability in the floodplains.
• The event recorded approximately 200 mm of rainfall in 2 hours.
• The flood was not an outlier or extreme in terms of total rainfall, return period, discharge, discharge per unit basin area, unit stream power, or flow velocity.
• Extreme flood levels were reached due to the transport of large quantities of both fine and coarse sediment particles.
• The Rubí stream is characterized as steep, ephemeral, lacking an armour layer, and prone to torrential events, where significant sediment transport plays a crucial role in flood height.

Contributions

• Consolidates and reviews scattered information, including grey literature, on the 1962 Rubí flash flood.
• Corrects previous misunderstandings by demonstrating that the event was not an outlier in standard hydrological metrics.
• Highlights the critical role of large sediment transport in achieving extreme flood levels, offering a new perspective on the event's severity.
• Proposes elevating the 1962 Rubí flood as an international example of an extreme flash flood, particularly concerning sediment-laden flows.
• Discusses the methodology for computing discharges using flood marks and presents a torrential calculation based on the momentum principle.

Funding

Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Vide20181962,
  author = {Vide, Juan Pedro Martín and Llasat, María Carmen},
  title = {The 1962 flash flood in the Rubí stream (Barcelona, Spain)},
  journal = {Journal of Hydrology},
  year = {2018},
  doi = {10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.09.028},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.09.028}
}