Analysis of the spatial distribution of perceived flood damage in Italy

Being able to quantify the possible flood damage in a territory is a pivotal matter while designing strategies to mitigate risk. In this context, data driven quick assessment can be an useful tool to better understand the territory needs and to establish priorities.

With our work we have been working on the spatial distribution of perceived flood damage in Italy, analyzing data coming from more than 45000 citizens’ declarations registered after events occurred in Italy between 2013 and 2021. We focused on events which required the national state of emergency, which activated the procedure of claims' collection carried out by regions. Working on such material, we’ve been able to identify the subset of data which are specifically associated to flood events and to geolocalize them. Once the definitive dataset was ready we had a framework of the perceived damage at square meter in the country, which has been analyzed at different spatial scales. The work highlighted a great variability and inhomogeinity within different areas in the country. A further step of the analysis tried to link the perceived damage to the characteristic of the society and the territory, explaining what drives the perception of damage.