Sun, Sea & Storms – Is the Ibiza Flood a Wakeup Call for Flood Preparedness?

Earlier this week the Spanish Meteorological Agency announced a red weather alert for the Spanish Balearic Island of Ibiza and Formentera, with the imminent onset of heavy rain forecasted.

By Tuesday evening, approximately 254mm of rainfall was recorded over a 24-hour period in Ibiza Town, the island’s capital. To put this amount of rainfall into context, 254mm is more than half of what the area typically receives during a whole calendar year. While additionally, Ibiza airport recorded 174mm of rainfall during the same period which was the highest rainfall figure at the airport’s monitoring system since 1952

What caused the Ibiza Floods?

The primary factor which caused the severe flooding in Ibiza was due to the remnants of Hurricane Gabrielle, which was classified as the second major hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic Hurricane season. Hurricane Gabrielle intensified into a category 4 hurricane on the 22nd of September where it was located off the eastern coast of Bermuda, fuelled by warm ocean waters and moist tropical air conditions. The hurricane proceeded to move eastward over the Atlantic Ocean where it began to weaken slightly into a tropical storm and later made landfall on the Iberian Peninsula on the 28th of September 2025. Although much of its strength had been lost at this stage, the storm was still extremely powerful due to warmer than average sea surface temperatures and warmer air. See our previous blog about the El Nino here

A secondary factor which can be attributed to the severe flooding is the scale of urban development on the island of Ibiza and Ibiza Town. Many residential zones on the island are located in low-lying areas which have a known history of historical flood risk.

Figure 1 – Track of Hurricane Gabrielle.

Lack of Flood Preparedness?

One of the most alarming aspects of the recent Ibiza floods was the lack of preparedness and how so many tourists, emergency services and even local residents who are familiar with the area and local weather were caught off guard. Warnings were issued prior to the storm; however, it is understood that these warnings came too late, which gave little or no time for people to respond or prepare.

The lack of preparedness sounds all too similar and is not unique to the Island of Ibiza. In recent floods around the world, it is evident that a lack of early warning systems combined with inadequate infrastructure and public awareness can significantly increase the severity and damages caused by flooding. Floods have always been a natural disaster by nature, but the scale of damage caused from them is often human led and induced.

Last year in October 2024, the city of Valencia experienced severe flooding from the Depresión Aislada en Niveles Altos (DANA) storm, which led local residents and experts to call for better improvements and investment in flood preparedness and early warning systems. Following the Ibiza floods, risk management personnel and organisations have since expressed their surprise that the Balearic Islands do not have an early warning system in place, despite hydrological modelling which has mapped vulnerable areas.

In contrast, Valencia has an early warning alert system which is known as the ES-Alert System. This system is designed to alert local residents when there may be a flood and alerts residents by sending a notification via their mobile phone, similar to UK residents who are signed up to receive Environment Agency (EA) Flood Warning & Alert Area notifications. However, the ES-Alert System used in Valencia has come under scrutiny and criticism, as flood warnings and alerts came far too late during last year’s severe floods in the city, which gave minimal if any time for people to react.

The criticism associated with the Spanish ES-Alert system sounds familiar when comparing it to the UK’s EA Flood Warning & Alert system, whereby UK residents have given similar criticism regarding the inaccuracy of alert notifications. UK residents from numerous flood risk communities have previously reported they have received alert notifications too frequently when they are unneeded, causing them to ignore future alert & warnings, or they have not received alert & warnings quickly enough to prepare against a flood.

The importance of being Prepared:

The recent floods in Ibiza show just how important being prepared for extreme weather events is. At a larger scale, early warning systems have the potential to alert residents with sufficient time prior to a flood, so a means of escape or preparedness can be achieved. However, this is completely reliant on infrastructure and adequate investment to install such measures and ensure they are accurate, as well as public awareness.
At a property level, flood planning is essential for homeowners and businesses to ensure residents know their flood risk and have a clear plan on what to do in the event of a flood. If you don’t already have a flood plan, you can create one using the this link.

Investing in Property Flood Resilience (PFR) measures can also significantly reduce the risk of flooding at a property level and increase preparedness.

If you are concerned about your flood risk and are looking to improve your flood preparedness, feel free to contact us here at FPSE who can happily advise.

Written by Reece Hewitt – Senior Flood Risk Consultant – MSC BSc (Hons) MCIWEM

3rd October 2025