Tourism-Related Urbanization and Flooding: Some Examples in Mallorca

The growth of impervious surfaces caused by urbanization processes on the coast means an increase in flooding episodes affecting urban tourist centers. The island of Mallorca is a clear example of mass tourism, and the territorial impacts it has caused. These include the massive construction of hotels and buildings on the coasts, creating urbanizations that are often uncontrolled by the public administration, thus not following regulations on risk and safety issues, which are usually more recent in time. This chapter presents the impacts that this tourist urbanization has caused in Mallorca in the form of flooding episodes that can be classified as urban as they affect flood areas that had not previously been occupied by man. The proliferation of such spaces, together with the increase in natural episodes of intense rainfall due to climate change, suggests that this type of flooding in tourist areas will increase in the future, with the consequent economic and societal impacts.