Valencia Flood Risk: Check Any Address Before You Sign

Look the address up on two official maps before you sign: the Generalitat's PATRICOVA viewer and the national flood-zone viewer. The two use different methods, so they complement each other. In October 2026 the Generalitat started the procedure to approve a revision of the PATRICOVA; approval comes after the public-information period.

Check the address on two official maps before you sign, whether you rent or buy: the Generalitat’s PATRICOVA viewer and the national flood-zone viewer. They use different methodologies, so they complement each other.

How do you check one address?

Start with the Generalitat’s viewer, called Visor WEB. Type a place name, an address or a cadastral reference in the search box, switch on the PATRICOVA danger layers and read the level at your plot. The exact boundaries are those on the PATRICOVA zoning maps.

Then repeat the search on the national viewer, which is the central tool of the national flood-zone system. At each point it shows the potential flood extent and the water depth. Its maps run from a high-probability scenario, a 10-year return period, to an extreme-event scenario, 500 years. The same information is in MITECO’s infoAGUA app for your phone.

Save a screenshot of each result. The viewer’s detailed information for an area gives the date its map was updated, so you know how fresh the answer is.

What do the PATRICOVA levels mean?

The PATRICOVA is the Generalitat’s flood plan, and its decree sets the levels.

se establecen seis niveles de peligrosidad de inundación de origen hidrológico-hidráulico y un nivel geomorfológico

Six levels of flood danger of hydrological-hydraulic origin and one geomorphological level are established.

DOGV · Decreto 201/2015, art. 8.1

Each level combines how often it floods with how deep the water gets. Level 1 covers a probability above 0,04 in any year, with water above 80 cm. Levels 3 and 4 mean shallower water, above 15 cm. The geomorphological level marks land where geomorphological processes point to historical floods, not necessarily catalogued.

Is the PATRICOVA changing?

Yes, but treat the revision as a draft. The Generalitat has started the approval procedure, and the approval resolution will come after the public-information period. Until the plan is revised, the current one stays valid.

The draft sets seven danger levels, with restrictions that depend on the level. It starts with the area most affected by the October 2024 DANA, where the flood-prone surface would grow by more than 60 %. It proposes prohibiting underground car parks in medium-danger cases.

What do the weather warning colours mean?

Yellow means no risk for the population in general, but risk for some specific activity or a highly vulnerable location. Orange means an important risk, with some danger for normal activities. Red means an extreme risk, with a very high level of risk for the population.

If orange-level warnings are declared, telework if feasible.

How does ES-Alert reach your phone?

You do not need to do anything: no prior action is needed. The alert fills the screen like a text message, with a beep and a vibration, and it sounds even if the phone is silenced, locked or on Do Not Disturb. The emergency centre may add a second language, generally English.

The “Alerta de Protección Civil” is on by default and cannot be switched off, while the “Pre-Alerta de Protección Civil” can be switched on or off on the phone. When one arrives, stay calm and read the text carefully, including the instructions on how to act. Warn the people around you, because some may not have received it.

What should you do when a warning is issued?

Prepare before any warning. Find out whether your home and workplace are in flood zones, keep an emergency kit for at least 3 days, and know where the electricity, water and gas shut-offs are. Do not park in dry riverbeds or on riverbanks. When a warning is issued and your car is in a flood zone, move it to a safe place before the rain starts.

In an emergency, do not stay on the ground floor, in basements or in garages. If you live on the ground floor, protect doors and windows with boards or other barriers, and do not try to retrieve your vehicle from an underground garage.

Outdoors, never cross fords or flooded areas. If the current traps your vehicle, abandon it immediately. Keep away from riverbanks, ravines, torrents and areas that may flood, head for the highest possible ground, and follow the instructions of the authorities. Call 112 only in an emergency.

Does home insurance cover a flood?

The Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros (CCS) compensates extraordinary floods, including those caused by sea surges. It pays when the policyholder has paid the corresponding surcharge in its favour.

Two exclusions matter: damage to assets insured under a type of contract for which the CCS surcharge is not mandatory, and damage from the insured item’s own defect or manifest lack of maintenance. Ask your insurer for the current clause.

Before you sign, read the rent guide or the property purchase guide, and the neighbourhood guide to compare areas. Autumn rain patterns are in the climate guide.

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Not confirmed: Insurance: the consortium clause we read is undated, so ask your insurer for the current wording. Landlords and agents: no official text confirms they show flood risk, so ask for the viewer result in writing.

General information checked against the sources listed above, not legal advice for your situation. Rules and office practice change; confirm with the immigration office or a licensed adviser before you act. See how guides are checked.

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