Integrating historical data coming from flooding, extreme rainfalls, droughts and risk atlases for studying climate change in northern mexican cities

Abstract

Characterizing severity, frequency and flooding extent is a key for implementing prevention measures, facing social and economic impacts associated with climate change phenomena. The objective of this paper is to analyze information on rainfall from the 18th century to the second decade of the 21st century, in the city of Durango, Mexico, through historical documentation contrasted with meteorological data. The methodology includes: floods’ historical study and hydrometeorological data observation. Historical information, as a product of documentary sources and interviews with historians, was co-linked with official sources. Among the results, a flood zone map shows 100 years return periods, describing the severity. The findings allow to characterize damages and risks associated with floods, in addition to their description, development and causes. Also, we propose some guidelines for starting this methodological process for the main metropolitan area in Northern Mexico: Monterrey. Among the conclusions, we stand out that the Natural Risks Atlases must include evidence documented in historical archives or from historians’ wisdom.