The project LIFE Garachicowhich designs an early warning system for flood coastal in the northern municipality of Tenerifeplans to anchor a current meter again next winter, that is, a device that measures the speed of currents and waves to calculate the risk in this area.
Climate change in the Canary Islands: losses of four million euros a year and forced displacement of 5,000 people
Further
The LIFE Garachico project indicates that its objective is to increase the resilience of the municipalities located on the Macaronesian coastline in the face of extreme coastal events caused by climate change.
The town of Garachico is used to suffering the ravages of the sea, especially when there is a storm from the north or a swell, and its main avenue and streets closest to the coast tend to flood when these weather conditions occur.
On April 28, within the framework of the project, the AWAC 600 current meter was extracted, which had been anchored on the Garachico coast since January 7.
This device was essential to measure the speeds and directions of the currents and waves in the area during these months, and is a key tool to analyze and calculate the risk of flooding.
The anchoring of the AWAC 600 current meter is one of the activities carried out within the framework of the LIFE Garachico project to achieve the objectives of the development action of a high-precision early warning system.
In addition, during the project, training with artificial intelligence of the cameras located on the coast of the municipality is being carried out with the aim of providing real-time data on marine variables and acting as a fixed current meter.
This technological advance will mean greater precision and speed in data collection, which will allow better decision-making for risk prevention in the coastal zone.
In addition, the project is implementing the early warning system for coastal flooding in the pilot location of Garachico with the aim of improving the resilience of the area in the face of extreme events and minimizing the risk for the population and infrastructures.
A new anchoring is expected to take place next winter (2023-2024) to further improve the accuracy of the predictions and confirm the calibration of the operational system, which will allow more reliable information and more accurate decisions to be made in the future.
The LIFE Garachico project is characterized by its dynamic participatory approach, which places the citizenry as the protagonist and a fundamental part of the initiative, he adds in the statement, in which he recalls that its title is “adaptation to coastal flooding due to climate change by through flexible strategies in the urban areas of Macaronesia”, specifically in the Canary Islands and Azores, and has a financial contribution from the EU of 55%.