Meteo-hydro risk
Forecasts of weather phenomena and their ground effects are gathered and disseminated by Functional Centres, the mainstay of the national warning system managed by the Civil Protection Department and the Regions and Autonomous Provinces. Each Region and Autonomous Province evaluates the potential risk situations within its territory and issues warnings to local civil protection systems if necessary. It is then up to the mayors to activate the civil protection plans, inform citizens about risk situations, and decide on measures to safeguard the population.
For more in-depth information, visit the “Meteo-hydro Alert” section.
Flood risk is widespread in Italy. Areas that may be affected by river flooding are identified through flood risk management plans (PGRA) and hydrogeological plans (PAI) carried out by district basin authorities or regions. These plans include hazard maps that highlight areas potentially affected by flooding. These maps are created by the district basin authorities and can be found on their websites.
Additionally, Italy is one of the European countries most affected by landslides. The areas at risk of landslides are outlined in the PAI plans. These areas encompass locations where landslides have previously occurred, areas where the risk of landslides could increase, and those areas susceptible to new landslide occurrences. A map showing these areas is available on the ISPRA website.
The municipality prepares the civil protection plan, taking into account information from the PGRA and PAI plans and any other studies on areas at risk and critical situations at the local level.
In particular, the municipal plan must also indicate which areas are flood-prone due to small rivers, streams, and sewer networks, including potentially critical situations at embankments, bridges, underpasses, and narrowing of the watercourse.
The Civil Protection Department will not intervene to remove dangerous trees or branches. If the tree is on private property, it is the responsibility of the owner or area manager to remove or secure it. If the tree is in a public space, please contact the Fire Department or your municipality for assistance.
To stay informed about current road conditions, call the toll-free number 1518 for CCISS-Viaggiare Informati. This service is available 24 hours a day, every day. Additionally, it's recommended to check the websites of the Autonomous Regions and Provinces for information on adverse weather conditions before embarking on any travel.
To find out whether a weather alert is in place - or expected - in a specific area of the country, please visit the websites of the Regions and Autonomous Provinces. You can consult the national weather bulletins in our website's "meteo-hydro alert" section. You can visit the web pages on regional warnings from the same section.
Finally, in the "Are you prepared?" section, you can consult the behaviors to be adopted in meteo-hydro events. Knowing the risk and how to deal with it is still the best way to protect yourself from possible dangers.
In general, you can report flooding to your municipality by indicating where the manhole is located and what, if anything, is obstructing it. Call the Fire Department immediately if the flooding poses a danger to yourself or others.
Remember that it is always a good idea to know the correct behaviors to follow in the event of a meteo-hydro risk. In our website's "Are You Prepared?" section, you can find helpful tips on how to prevent or better handle emergencies.
Report the lack of cleaning of a river and its banks to your municipality using the official contact channels provided by the administration. Your municipality will activate preventive measures for the area and the population while verifying who should intervene.
Regularly maintaining rivers and embankments is one of the most important activities for mitigating meteo-hydrogeological and hydraulic risk. These interventions are meant to avoid or reduce, to a minimum, the possibility of damages resulting from an overflow or embankment breach.
It is the responsibility of the municipality and the region to identify useful interventions to mitigate the probability of flood events within acceptable thresholds in relation to the hazard of an event and the vulnerability of the area.
The Regions and Autonomous Provinces are responsible for issuing alerts for local civil protection systems. On the other hand, mayors are responsible for activating municipal civil protection plans, informing citizens about risk situations, and deciding on actions to protect the population.
These include the possible closure of schools and public buildings through the issuance of special ordinances.
Report these types of instances to your municipality, which will activate protective measures for the area and the public while verifying who should take appropriate action. Call the Fire Department immediately if the flooding poses a danger to yourself or others.
Remember that it is always a good idea to know the correct behaviors to follow in the event of a meteo-hydro risk. In our website's "Are You Prepared?" section, you can find helpful tips on how to prevent or better handle emergencies.
The Civil Protection Department does not distribute salt bags to citizens or Administrations. To request information on the possible availability of salt bags, contact your municipality or regional civil protection.
Daily, the Civil Protection Department and the Functional Centres of the Regions and Autonomous Provinces produce weather forecasts for civil protection purposes, summarized in the National weather bulletin.
To request a copy of a weather bulletin referring to a specific area where a hydraulic or hydrogeological phenomenon has occurred, contact the Functional Centre of the Region affected by the event.