Water excess events in the written press (system Ventania, Argentina)

• Main Authors: María Ortuño Cano, Jorge Gentili, Belén Moretto, Alicia Campo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Departamento de Geografía, Facultad de Humanidades, Universidad Nacional del Comahue 2019-08-01
• Series: Boletín Geográfico
• Subjects: prensa escrita; inundaciones; anegamientos; gestión correctiva
• Online Access: http://revele.uncoma.edu.ar/htdoc/revele/index.php/geografia/article/view/2366
• ISSN: 0326-1735; 2313-903X

Water excess events are environmental problems derived from a meteorological- climatic origin that generate adverse effects over population. Its consequences reflect that societies continue to being vulnerable to them. During the last decades of the 20th century and the beginning of 21st, on Ventania’s System northern slope there were multiple events of water excess (floods and waterlogging) caused by rainfall of different duration and magnitude. Therefore, the aim of this study is to characterize this situation through the written press, the actors involved and their actions on water excess events occurred in Ventania’s System northern slope during 1977-2017 period. The events were identified based on data from the National Meteorological Service and estates in the area. Newspaper articles were chronologically analyzed in order to situate the events and its effects, track them in time, locate its effects, know those involved and the actions carried out. In both events local actors participated throughout the process. In waterlogging, provincial and national actors predominate, unlike floods, where local actors mainly appear. This may be associated with the greater extent of the manifestation of waterlogging processes and, consequently, greater economic effects and losses regarding to floods. Likewise, it was observed that structural and non-structural measures were more frequent during the waterlogging and that in both types of events there was a predominance of nonstructural measures.