Short note on the mapping of heritage sites impacted by the 2024 floods in Valencia, Spain

2024-11-13

arXiv.org

AI Summary

This study assesses the impact of the October 2024 Valencia (Spain) flood on cultural heritage sites. Method: Leveraging geospatial overlay analysis, publicly available flood extent maps were spatially intersected with the regional heritage inventory (GIS-georeferenced) and OpenStreetMap (OSM) data to quantify macro-scale impacts across heritage typologies for the first time. Contribution/Results: Approximately 3.3% (204 sites) of listed heritage assets fell within the inundated area, with churches/sanctuaries (81), outdoor religious sculptures (78), and historic irrigation infrastructure (45) exhibiting the highest concentration of exposure. The analysis confirms OSM’s utility for rapid, large-scale post-disaster heritage screening but highlights its limitations for fine-grained damage assessment. All datasets and analytical workflows are openly shared, providing a reproducible methodological framework and empirical benchmark for international post-disaster cultural heritage risk identification and collaborative conservation efforts.

Technology Category

• Data Mining & Knowledge Management: Mining of Spatial, Temporal or Spatio-Temporal Data
• Computer Vision: Remote Sensing / Geospatial AI
• Application Domains: Humanities & Computational Social Science

Application Category

• Web Mining and Content Analysis: Web data provenance, reliability, and authenticity
• Security and Privacy: Data transparency and provenance
• Responsible Web: Sustainability and climate impact of web technologies

Abstract

This short note presents preliminary findings on the impact of the October 2024 floods on cultural heritage sites in Valencia, Spain. Using publicly available data, we assess the extent of potential damage by overlaying flood maps with heritage site coordinates. We identify that 3.3% of heritage sites in the region have been potentially impacted, with churches and shrines (81), outdoor religious iconography (78), and historic irrigation features (45) being the most heavily affected. Our analysis utilizes data from OpenStreetMap and listings from the Generalitat Valenciana, suggesting that while OpenStreetMap's crowd-sourced data can provide useful estimates of the proportion of impacted sites, it may not be suitable for a detailed damage assessment. By sharing this data openly, we aim to contribute to international efforts in preserving cultural heritage after the disaster and provide a foundation for future assessments of heritage site vulnerability to climate-related events.

Problem

• Assessing flood damage on Valencia's heritage sites
• Mapping impacted cultural sites using OpenStreetMap data
• Identifying vulnerable heritage types for climate resilience

Innovation

• Overlay flood maps with heritage coordinates
• Use OpenStreetMap for impact estimates
• Share data openly for heritage preservation