Professor Carme Llasat, president of Observatori de la Inundabilitat

News | Research
(20/10/2025)

Carme Llasat, professor at the Department of Applied Physics at the University of Barcelona, has been appointed president of the Observatori de la Inundabilitat (Flood Observatory), an entity recently created by the Government of Catalonia. It aims to improve technical knowledge, institutional coordination and decision-making regarding a phenomenon that, as a result of the climate emergency, is increasingly affecting Catalonia.

 

News | Research
20/10/2025

Carme Llasat, professor at the Department of Applied Physics at the University of Barcelona, has been appointed president of the Observatori de la Inundabilitat (Flood Observatory), an entity recently created by the Government of Catalonia. It aims to improve technical knowledge, institutional coordination and decision-making regarding a phenomenon that, as a result of the climate emergency, is increasingly affecting Catalonia.

 

Llasat, who is one of the leading international scientific authorities on the analysis of extreme weather phenomena, is director of the Group for the Analysis of Adverse Meteorological Situations (GAMA) and a member of the Water Research Institute (IdRA) and the Institute of Complex Systems (UBICS) at the UB. She received the Catalan Government’s Saint George’s Cross in 2022, and is the author of many scientific articles. She led the first scientific report on the impact of climate and environmental change in the Mediterranean.

Research and knowledge to improve integrated risk planning

The Observatory, affiliated with the Directorate-General for Water Transition, is composed of 25 members from several agencies of the Government of Catalonia, such as the Catalan Water Agency, Civil Protection, the Catalan Meteorological Service and Urban Planning, as well as independent experts and representatives from the academic world. Among the members of the group are UB experts Enric Pol, emeritus professor at the Faculty of Psychology, and Maria Teresa Vadrí, associate professor at the Faculty of Law. 

Its functions include assessing and monitoring the measures set out in flood risk management programmes, analysing available data and studies, and formulating technical and strategic proposals to improve flood prevention and response. The Observatory will also promote studies that integrate scientific, territorial and social aspects, taking into account the impact of climate change, especially in the Mediterranean area.

This new body will also have to propose medium- and long-term solutions, combining structural and non-structural measures and promoting nature-based strategies to reduce the vulnerability of the territory and increase its resilience to extreme weather events.
At the organization’s inaugural meeting, the Catalan Ministry of Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition, Sílvia Paneque, highlighted that the launch of the Observatory “reinforces the Government’s commitment to flood risk management and the safety of people and property” and noted that “collaboration between the Administration, science and the territory is essential to address the challenges posed by climate change.”

Paneque also highlighted that Carme Llasat’s leadership “represents the Government’s trust in research and knowledge as pillars for informed and efficient decision-making,”

adding that the professor’s track record is “a guarantee for promoting policies based on scientific evidence and cooperation between institutions.”

Finally, Paneque highlighted the new Observatory’s commitment to public service, “which should contribute to the transfer of knowledge and information to citizens and therefore the creation of a responsible society.”

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