Wind and storms are certainly the worst enemies of the Catalan coast. Storm Domingos left visible damage in Barcelona and on the Catalan coast this weekend: the Nova Mar Bella beach in Barcelona, between Bac de Roda and Selva de Mar, was so badly eroded by the storm that some underground Cables have been discovered allowing even more access to the sea. In addition, part of the promenade’s concrete walls that contained the waves were partially torn down by the force of the sea, with waves reaching up to three meters high and wind gusts exceeding 70 kilometers per hour. In other coastal communities such as Castelldefels, Sitges and Montgat there was also sand receding on the beaches due to strong winds.
Within the cities, fallen trees and branches have accumulated throughout the weekend: in Barcelona, around twenty trees fell in the first hours of the storm on Thursday, a “usual” number, according to the city council; and city parks were closed as a precaution. The Generalitat also closed access to the nature reserves of La Fageda d’en Jordà and the Santa Margarida volcano (Girona) due to the risk of trees and branches falling due to strong winds.
Destruction of the promenade on Mar Bella beach in Barcelona. MASSIMILIANO MINOCRI
After three days on alert, the Civil Protection of the Generalitat deactivated the Procicat plan this Sunday morning due to strong waves “without any significant incidents”, after the Catalan Meteorological Service ended the danger warning. The warning for strong winds remained in effect until midday. Civil Defense received more than 1,110 calls for nearly 800 incidents in the first three days of the storm.
The scenario continues the damage caused by the storms of recent years, which are increasingly eroding the sand surface. However, none of these had the impact of Glòria at the beginning of 2020, when days of persistent rain and winds flooded the beaches of a large part of the coast and even damaged railway infrastructure.
Constant loss
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Experts warn that beach decline is a growing risk, and according to studies by the municipal public company Barcelona Ciclo del Agua SA (BCASA), Barcelona’s coast has lost an average of 50,000 cubic meters of sand per year since 2010. The number has fallen to 17,000.
For their part, the beaches managed by the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona (AMB) had already lost 17% of their surface and 25% of their sand between 2015 and 2019. The institution’s last report in 2022 warned that coastal areas do not have the necessary infrastructure to withstand the increasingly frequent storms and the difficulty of achieving natural regeneration of beaches. According to the report, sand on the beaches of the southern metropolitan coast is already decreasing by an average of one meter per year.
The loss of sand surface occurs for a variety of reasons: climate change (sea level rise, stronger storms, and changes in wind and wave direction), coastal infrastructure changing shoreline dynamics, and lack of natural contribution of sediment due to river management.
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