The conference “Management of sudden flood risks in the Mediterranean region” was held in Perpignan on June 17, 2026, at the Palace of the Kings of Majorca, with the aim of promoting both a local and transnational approach to addressing flood risks in Mediterranean territories. Organised by the Pyrenees-Mediterranean Euroregion and the LocAll4Flood project consortium within the framework of the Interreg Euro-MED, the event brought together speakers and representatives of high institutional and scientific level in order to share their knowledge and advance common solutions to one of the most serious natural hazards in the region.
The conference was opened by Éric Cadoré, regional councillor and president of the water and risk prevention commission of the Occitanie region; Sandra Ruiz Navarro, head of the flood risk management department of the Catalan Water Agency (Generalitat of Catalonia); and Gerardo Torrente, secretary general of the Agency for Waters and Environmental Quality of the Balearic Islands (ABAQUA, Government of the Balearic Islands).
The conference programme was structured around an intense day, structured into four thematic roundtables to address the management of flash floods from a global perspective. The day ended with a field visit to the torrent of Corregada, organized by the Syndicat du bassin de la Têt, in order to observe on site the actions implemented to protect the agglomeration of Perpignan against sudden floods.
Meritxell Abril, project manager at the BETA Technology Center, presented a summary of the LocAll4Flood project, the actions carried out and the objectives achieved since its launch in January 2024. The first round table, on governance, explored ways to bring relevant actors together, with the participation of experts from Bulgaria and France. The intervention of Ganka Georgieva, deputy mayor of the municipality of Dalgopol, highlighted in particular the participation of her commune in the project. The second round table focused on early warning systems, analyzing how to provide authorities with the data needed for an effective response, as well as presenting the Argos system developed at nine pilot sites in the Mediterranean basin under the program. This session brought together speakers and feedback from Catalonia and Malta.
In the afternoon, the third round table highlighted the importance of citizen awareness and mechanisms to help the population understand and anticipate the risk of flooding. The participants also presented educational materials developed in different languages and distributed to public administrations, schools and other key structures in order to transmit them to civil society. The fourth and final panel focused on nature-based solutions, highlighting the role of green infrastructure as a tool to reduce flood risk. These approaches were illustrated through the catalogue of nature-based solutions developed by the project, with contributions from scientists and technicians in Greece, Spain and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The conference also included a presentation of the Interreg Euro-MED programme as a framework for cooperation on risk reduction in the Mediterranean, delivered by Curzio Cervelli, coordinator of the Joint Secretariat. A session dedicated to other Mediterranean risk management frameworks brought together Octavi Quintana, director of PRIMA, and Laurent Alfonso, civil protection expert at the Union for the Mediterranean. The conference was closed by Joan Lloret, project manager of the Pyrenees-Mediterranean Euroregion, and Xavier Bernard Sans, secretary general of the organization, who presented the future prospects of the LocAll4Flood project as well as the next steps of the consortium.
Beyond the interventions, the conference was a real space for debate and exchange promoting the dissemination of results, the creation of synergies and new cooperation opportunities, as well as the transfer of knowledge between administrations, scientific and professional teams for flood risk management at the Euro-Mediterranean level.
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