Assessing and Improving Flood and Landslide Community Social Awareness and Engagement via a Web Platform: The Case of Italy

Italy is significantly affected by ever-present flood and landslide risks and has experienced many disasters. Local social awareness and engagement, however, differ and need to be increased by decision makers and citizens through improvements in risk preparedness. With this aim, the #italiasicura web platform was developed by Fondazione Politecnico di Milano and released in 2015 to show country to local level hazard maps and risk reduction projects in Italy. Any stage of the user experience with the platform can be shared via social media. Using this tool, an awareness-oriented web analytics process was structured to develop a set of indicators for the increase of knowledge linked to flood and landslide hazards. In so doing, it is possible to measure community disaster awareness actions and competence in the area of hazard knowledge. This article presents the results obtained by using data from the platform

Piani comunali di protezione civile: origini, sviluppo e nuove azioni di pianificazione territoriale (parte I)

La normativa degli ultimi 20 anni dà ai piani comunali di protezione civile un valore crescente tra le attività di pianificazione del territorio, ma i relativi caratteri specifici stentano ad affermarsi tra gli addetti. Coerentemente, il lavoro colma, prima, il percorso, dalla genesi ad oggi, della pianificazione di protezione civile nel nostro paese, ricostruendone l’evoluzione tra norme e indirizzi. L’esito definisce i ruoli di Sindaci, strutture amministrative comunali, regioni, volontariato e prefetture culminato nel D.Lgs. 1/2018. Nella seconda parte si espone il nuovo ruolo del piano di protezione civile comunale nel quadro del Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction e offre spunti per la cruciale direttiva nazionale sulla pianificazione di protezione civile in fLa normativa degli ultimi 20 anni dà ai piani comunali di protezione civile un valore crescente tra le attività di pianificazione del territorio, ma i relativi caratteri specifici stentano ad affermarsi tra gli addetti. Coerentemente, il lavoro colma, prima, il percorso, dalla genesi ad oggi, della pianificazione di protezione civile nel nostro paese, ricostruendone l’evoluzione tra norme e indirizzi. L’esito definisce i ruoli di Sindaci, strutture amministrative comunali, regioni, volontariato e prefetture culminato nel D.Lgs. 1/2018. Nella seconda parte si espone il nuovo ruolo del piano di protezione civile comunale nel quadro del Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction e offre spunti per la cruciale direttiva nazionale sulla pianificazione di protezione civile in fase di stesura

Migliorare la resilienza urbana e dei territori antropizzati tramite misure diffuse di difesa dalle inondazioni, in: Technologies for integrated river basin management-Tecniche per la difesa del suolo e dall'inquinamento. 40° corso

Flood proofing methods and the associated techniques provide an effective option to enhance resilience in urban areas, under both commitments of long term mitigation planning and of emergency management. Flood proofing techniques are focused towards making a micro-scale support available to the community in order to hold its own from floods through an early active engagement. This involves not only a public commitment, but a private appointment too. Mortality rate, economic damage, cultural and heritage losses due to floods can be significantly reduced under detailed plan and concurrent, real-time, matching actions by both public administration and citizens. To date, the best-known techniques are those developed, adopted and promoted by FEMA in the Usa, although the widespread diffusion of the approach still remains far from a satisfactory coverage of flood prone areas, as shown by frequent disasters occurred in last few years. However, urbanization and building practices in the Usa are far from those, multifaceted that one encounters in European and Italian territories. Accordingly, one can adopt FEMA systems, standards, facilities and devices to flood proofing in our country very seldom, because of the huge difference in the urban, building, hydrographic, river training, climate and geomorphological contexts. Thus, a specific theoretical and technological effort must be payed to adjust the flood proofing approach to European countries. Flood proofing methods and techniques could offer a set of complementary and flexible actions that, under a cost to benefit approach, could sometimes provide better performances of that provided by traditional engineering works and, in many circumstances, it can be integrated into a multi-approach to the management of flood risk. Flood proofing encompasses a broad range of possible actions to reduce direct flood damage to buildings, settlements, infrastructures or entire neighbourhoods. It comprises several techniques with different complexity, to be arrayed in accordance with an accurate and detailed hydrological assessment of the potential flood scenarios (water level, flow velocity, soil properties, etc.) and to a specific appraisal of the urban setting, this including social issues. The paper presents a rational approach in order to develop flood proofing strategies within the Italian contexts. This includes classification tables, based on qualitative and quantitative indicators, useful to integrate flood proofing measures into the traditional engineering approach to flood mitigation. The deal is adding new options to future flood challenges under a resilience-oriented bottom-up approach, in order to shift flood-resistant actions towards a wider and complete and sustainable flood-adaptation strategy

Flood Proofing in Urban Areas

Flood control in urban areas can be feasibly and cost-effectively enhanced by implementing flood proofing approaches to risk reduction in the context of environmental and land-use planning and management. Indeed, flood proofing makes it possible to improve, integrate and in some cases even replace traditional measures for flood control, reducing the vulnerability and increasing the resilience of buildings and infrastructures. This book begins by reviewing the physics of stability and instability of both human beings and buildings under flood conditions, together with criteria and models (both conventional and innovative) for assessing flood strains. In turn, it presents a range of flood proofing concepts and techniques, together with a complete and updated classification of related methods and devices. This provides a user-friendly tool to help identify appropriate solutions to real-world problems for each specific risk scenario. In particular, the book focuses on temporary flood proofing techniques, given their ability to deliver effective performance at low costs. Lastly, it features an overview of norms, guidelines and laboratory recommendations that are currently being adopted in various countries with regard to flood proofing devices and testing procedures. The purpose of this book is essentially to encourage authorities, stakeholders, technicians and end users to successfully develop flood proofing solutions that can reduce flood risk in a pragmatic manner. In addition, the authors hope to inspire researchers, manufacturers and designers (engineers, architects, urban planners and urban managers) to pursue further advances in this key sector of public and private safety in urban areas

Assessment of Climate-Driven Flood Risk and Adaptation Supporting the Conservation Management Plan of a Heritage Site. The National Art Schools of Cuba

This work illustrates the contribution of flood risk assessment and adaptation to set up a conservation management plan for a masterpiece of 20th-century architecture. Case study is the iconic complex, internationally known as the National Art Schools of Cuba. It consists of five buildings built in the early 1960s within a park of Habana next to the Caribbean Sea. The path of the river (Rio Quibù) crossing the estate was modified to fit the landscape design. The complex has then been exposed to the risk of flooding. The School of Ballet, located in a narrow meander of the river, slightly upstream of a bridge and partially obstructing the flow, is particularly subject to frequent flash floods from the Rio Quibù, and it needs urgent restoration. Keeping ISA Modern is a project aimed at preserving the Schools complex. Based upon in situ surveys on the Rio Quibù and local area measurements during 2019, numerical modelling, and previous work by the Cuban National Institute of Hydraulic Resources, we pursued a flood risk analysis for the area, and a preliminary analysis of available risk reduction strategies. Using HEC-RAS 2D software for hydraulic modelling, we evaluated the flooded area and the hydraulic conditions (flow depth, velocity) for floods with given return periods. Our results show that SB is a building most subject to flooding, with high levels of risk. Defense strategies as designed by Cuban authorities may include a (new) wall around the School of Ballet and widening of the river channel, with high impact and cost, although not definitive. Temporary, light, permanent, and low cost/impact flood proofing structures may be used with similar effectiveness. We demonstrate that relatively little expensive hydraulic investigation may aid flood modelling and risk assessment in support of conservation projects for historically valuable sites. This may support brainstorming and the selection of (low to high cost) adaptation and risk reduction measures in the coastal areas of Cuba in response to ever increasing extreme storms and sea level rise controlling flood dynamics under transient climate change

Monitoring Strategic Hydraulic Infrastructures by Brillouin Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors

We present a case study of a Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) hybrid system based on Brillouin Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors (D-FOS), Vibrating Wire (VW) extensometers and temperature probes for an existing historical water penstock bridge positioned in a mountain valley in Valle d’Aosta Region, Northwestern Italy. We assessed Brillouin D-FOS performances for this kind of infrastructure, characterized by a complex structural layout and located in a harsh environment. A comparison with the more traditional strain monitoring technology offered by VW strain gauges was performed. The D-FOS strain cable has been bonded to the concrete members using a polyurethane-base adhesive, ensuring a rigid strain transfer. The raw data from all sensors are interpolated on a unique general timestamp with hourly resolution. Strain data from D-FOS and VW strain gauges are then corrected from temperature effects and compared. Considering the inherent differences between the two monitoring technologies, results show a good overall matching between strain time series collected by D-FOS and VW sensors. Brillouin D-FOS proves to be a good solution in terms of performance and economic investment for SHM systems on complex infrastructures such as hydropower plants, which involve extensive geometry combined with the need for detailed and continuous strain monitoring

The Campotosto Seismic Gap in Between the 2009 and 2016-2017 Seismic Sequences of Central Italy and the Role of Inherited Lithospheric Faults in Regional Seismotectonic Settings

The 2016-2017 seismic sequence, in central Italy, was caused by the Mt. Vettore-Mt. Bove active fault system, which generated three mainshocks, the largest one of M-w 6.6, on 30 October 2016. On 18 January 2017, four M-w 5-5.5 seismic events nucleated on the Campotosto active fault. The fault is considered as potentially responsible for M 6.6 seismic events and a seismic gap. The structure also nucleated a M-w 5.4 aftershock during the 2009 L'Aquila seismic sequence. We here combined new geological/geomorphological field data, 1945 aerial photographs interpretation, geodetic (Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar and Global Positioning System) data, and local historical seismicity analysis to determine how much of the Campotosto seismogenic source ruptured during the 2009 and 2016-2017 seismic sequences. The obtained residual seismic moment of the Campotosto seismic gap is in the range M-w 6.4-6.6 earthquake. Moreover, the review of the regional tectonic setting and evolution allowed us a brand new and comprehensive reading of the seismotectonics for the region, in terms of both seismic potential and segmentation of the seismogenic sources, which results strictly connected to the long-term activity of inherited lithospheric discontinuities, among which the major Ancona-Anzio fault. We here first highlight that such regional structures strongly influenced the structural setting and evolution of the surrounding regions, in a progressive and continuous process of tectonic inversions, which implies that structural heritage must be understood and considered when dealing with seismotectonics of a given tectonically active region.Published2425-24452T. Deformazione crostale attivaJCR Journa