Valencia floods showed why coastal cities should restore their wetlands

By Francisco García Sánchez, Assistant Professor in Urban Planning, Universidad de Cantabria
Dhanapal Govindarajulu, Postgraduate Researcher, Global Development Institute, University of Manchester

Valencia, a city and province in south-east Spain, became synonymous with disaster in October 2024 when floods killed at least 231 people. Extreme rainfall will happen more often as the climate warms and the cost to coastal cities like Valencia is expected to reach up to US$63 billion (£50 billion) annually by 2050.

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