Flood Risk Assessment and Quantification in the Piedmont Region, Italy

A major shift in flood management strategies is currently underway in many countries throughout the world. After the approval of the 2007/60 directive on floods, the Italian government empowered the Po Basin District Authority to carry out certain activities that correspond to the actions required by the 2007/60 EU directive on flood risk management. The quantitative flood IRP risk assessment methodology has been proposed by Regional Piedmont Administration, in collaboration with the Politecnico of Turin, with the aim of developing a system to quantify flood risk throughout the entire Piedmont region. The IRP methodology is described in this chapter. Some study cases on quantitative risk assessment regarding the Po basin territory, in the Turin, Susa and Arona municipalities, and in the Orco watershed basin are discussed. The proposed IRP methodology can be considered a first step toward a quantitative analysis of risk and a valuable means of supporting decision making. It is currently being developed to help decision makers compare different political strategy options and improve risk mapping in preparation of the next review foreseen by the EU directive.