Civil Protection Department

Ecosystem Risk: 2010 survey results

6633 Italian municipalities have hydro geological areas that are considered critical: a weakness that spares no region and incremented, as shown by the surveys in 82% of the municipalities, by the presence of homes built in high risk areas. This is what emerges from "Ecosystem Risk 2010" a study conducted by the Civil Protection Department and Legambiente in the national campaign Operation Rivers 2010.

The survey - released today in Rome by the Head of the Civil Protection Department, Franco Gabrielli, the director of Legambiente, Rossella Muroni and the head of civil protection Legambiente, Simone Andreotti - monitored the prevention activities carried out by more than 2 thousand municipalities considered high and very high landslide risk areas, according to the classification of the Ministry of Environment and the Union of Italian Provinces.

In 31% of municipalities surveyed by "risk Ecosystem 2010" entire neighbourhoods are located close to the river beds and landslide risk areas and in total more than 3.5 million citizens are at risk from landslides or floods.
Industrial buildings in 54% and public structures - schools and hospitals - in 19% of the cases are present in areas of high risk. Analysing the work of hydro geological risk mitigation, only 22% of the municipalities participate positively while 43% do nothing to prevent flood and landslide damage.
According to the survey, the municipality more worthy in the prevention of landslides and floods is Senigallia, in the Province of Ancona, due to the implementation of measures for relocation of settlements and industrial areas at risk and the organization a good local civil protection system.
The final data on the activities of the local system of civil protection are encouraging: 76% of municipalities have implemented an emergency plan, in case of landslides or floods, In the past two years 51% of their emergency plans were updated. In 69% of municipalities surveyed ordinary maintenance of river banks and safety works for the area and slopes were carried out.