Italy Extreme Weather

Extreme weather presents significant challenges to many areas in Italy.  Heavy rainfall stands out among this group of hazards.  Just this week, the west coast of Italy, in Tuscany, dealt with extreme rainfall that turned the roadways into rivers with a recorded rainfall of 1.3 inches in just 15 minutes.  Italy is full of trees and extremely aged buildings, which makes extreme rainfall a significant hazard.  The heaviest rainfall usually occurs in Northern/Central Italy which are heavy mountain areas.  Rainfall in Northern Italy is very similar to rainfall in Northern California in totality.







Things that can be done by Individuals to mitigate hazards to themselves and property are to:
    -Have a safety plan.  Have resources and food/water available in case of power outages or road                closures.
    -Plant trees (not too close to your house) and other vegetation to help absorb waterfall.
    -Do not attempt to cross waterflow created by heavy rainfall..

Things Government can do to mitigate extreme rainfall,
    -Dam, dike, or divert known routes of water created by heavy rainfall.
    -Keep the public informed through multiple sources of communication. (Italy provides a scale in              response to weather hazards (green for low, yellow for moderate, and red for extreme)
  
Italy has attempted to create a mapping system to outline areas prone to extreme weather and type, but due to low compliance the maps are ineffective.  Creating these maps would be extremely useful for determining which areas require certain resources and manpower during extreme weather events.

The National Criticality/Alert Bulletin is a summary of the criticality assessments issued by the Decentralized Functional Centers of the Regions and Autonomous Provinces. The map of the bulletin is divided into alert zones, i.e. territorial areas that are homogeneous with respect to the type and intensity of the weather phenomena that may occur and their effects on the territory.
On the map, for each alert zone, the highest criticality/alert level is represented. At the same level, it was decided to give priority to the representation of hydraulic risk, followed by storm risk, and finally hydrogeological risk. To simplify the reading of the bulletin, the text contains the names of the alert areas in full, with the exception of those areas identified by Regions and Autonomous Provinces only with an acronym.
The correspondence between the levels of criticality, provided for by the Directive of the President of the Council of Ministers of 27 February 2004, and the alert levels is defined in the Operational Indications for the homogenization of messages of the National Alert System of 10 February 2016. In the same Operational Guidelines, it is established to associate the term "alert" with the color codes (yellow, orange, red) corresponding to the levels of criticality (ordinary, moderate, high).
The forecast of criticality/alert for the risk of thunderstorms was introduced with the Operational Guidelines of 10 February 2016. For this risk, there is no criticality/red alert because, in this case, these phenomena are associated with intense and widespread disturbed weather conditions that already characterize the criticality/red alert scenario for hydrogeological risk. The effects and damage produced are also the same.
Some Regions and Autonomous Provinces may not yet have complied with the Operational Guidelines of 10 February 2016. In relation to unavailable criticality/alert forecasts, the information box that appears when you click on the map shows the wording "assessment not transmitted".


Severe Storms Wreak Havoc in Tuscany and Scotland: A Wake-Up Call for Climate Preparedness (msn.com)


Why has it been raining so hard? How climate change is causing heavier downpours | (ted.com)


Italy climate: average weather, temperature, rain - Climates to Travel


California climate: weather by month, temperature, rain - Climates to Travel


Criticality Bulletin of 25 October 2023 at 15:56 | Department of Civil Protection (protezionecivile.gov.it)


Italy: Mitigating the impact of climate change and flooding | PreventionWeb


Comments

  1. Will VOctober 26, 2023 at 8:49 PM

    Hey Justin, your blog does a very good job explaining the extreme weather hazards that occur in Italy and what makes them extreme. Also it explains what people who live in these areas with high rainfall need to do to avoid getting stuck within the hazard. I too agree that creating these maps to show where the high risk areas are would be a great idea because it could show people in advance where to avoid if there is heavy rainfall.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Julian AtkinsNovember 19, 2023 at 11:23 PM

    Hello Justin, your post about Italy's hazards and methods of mitigating coastal erosion are very interesting to read. You are very straightforward with presenting the weather hazard data and how it influences the coastal erosion of your country. You're also very straightforward about the different mitigation methods of government and individual resolution.

    ReplyDelete

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