Geomorphology-Based Analysis of Flood Critical Areas in Small Hilly Catchments for Civil Protection Purposes and Early Warning Systems: The Case of the Feltrino Stream and the Lanciano Urban Area (Abruzzo, Central Italy)

Abstract

This work is based on a drainage basin-scale geomorphological investigation combined with flood modeling. It is focused on the assessment of flood critical areas for the implementation of a geomorphology-based urban Early Warning System (EWS) in the urban area of Lanciano and the Feltrino Stream basin (a minor coastal basin of the Abruzzo hills, Central Italy). This area was investigated by combining: pre-existing geological, geomorphological, and hazard data and new detailed field surveys and mapping of geomorphological and hydrographical features (superficial and buried natural and urban stream network). The study was integrated with 2D flood numerical modeling for verifying the expected flooded areas and calibrating the critical areas. All the collected data were integrated into a geodatabase, and an expert-based approach through a geomorphology-based matrix allowed us to define the main categories of flood critical areas. The assessment of the critical areas supported the emplacement of a network of rainfall, temperature, and flood gauges. The geodatabase, the derived critical areas, and the gauge network contributed to set up an urban EWS, integrated with the regional forecast-based warning system. This system provides combined forecast-based, rainfall threshold-based, and flood monitoring-based alerts for floods. It incorporates communication tools for civil protection management. Finally, the EWS provides a tool for civil protection purposes and for the management of flood critical areas and the mitigation of the related risks by local authorities and will be integrated with sensors related to other hazards (i.e., landslides, wind, etc.).

Safety of Constructions from the Point of View of Population Protection in the Context of Industry 4.0 in the Czech Republic

“…The selected hazards would probably not be wholly suitable for other countries, where the hazards present in their territories must be assessed. However, the focus of many of the papers suggests that the list of selected hazards is adequate and also coincides with the interests of other countries, e.g., [23,24,26,69,70].…”

“…Another one of Italy's priorities is the assessment of critical flood areas for the purposes of civil defense and early warning systems. The installation of a network of rainfall, temperature, and flood sensors can significantly contribute to the creation of an effective warning system [22][23][24].…”

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“…These facts call for better preparedness intervention priorities and planning risk mitigation works. The identification and mapping of flood-prone areas is amongst the most important measures in order to establish early warning systems [51], develop mitigation plans and proper resource allocation for potential future flood events [52]. Different approaches exist in the literature for flash flood hazard analysis, including morphometric analysis [53], different GIS models [54][55][56], remote sensing in combination with GIS, [57,58] and post-event surveys [41,59,60].…”

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“…Urban waterlogging caused by heavy rainfall has become an increasingly prevailing problem for the city dwellers and is creating adverse economic, physical, social, and environmental consequences in major Asian cities such as Tokyo, Beijing, and Dhaka [1]. Rapid population growth, unplanned urbanization, and climate extremes are the major triggering factors for making this disaster more frequent in recent years [2][3][4]. Unlike other disasters, waterlogging-induced human losses are not common, but billions of dollars in damage are inflicted upon the city's infrastructure every year by this event.…”