Experimental alert model for hydrogeological risk: A case study in sicily

Abstract

The north-eastern part of Sicily (Messina district) is often hit by violent storms that cause great damage resulting from flash floods and debris flows. On 1st October 2009 there were 37 victims and on other occasions events have led to serious risks to both public and private safety. The environment is characterized by the presence of high slopes, clay terrains deriving from mainly metamorphic rocks, and intensely inhabited territories: conditions that make risk mitigation measures particularly difficult. Since there is very little time between the event of rainfall and the subsequent need for preventive intervention, the preparation of a civil protection system is a fundamental requirement. For these reasons the Sicilian Department of Civil Protection has an ongoing series of initiatives that seek to reduce response times: instrument installation (rain and temperature sensors, X-band meteorological radar), development of an alert model based on critical rainfall thresholds, and the development of a plan for activating civil protection procedures. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.