Building Flood Resilience through a Citizen-Centered Risk Communication: Flood and Climate Change Perception in Italy

We are currently facing a climate change-induced increase in extreme rainfall events, which amplify the intensity and probability of floods across Europe (IPCC, 2022). An example of such events took place in the Emilia Romagna region, in Northeast Italy. Just after 2022’s Po River drought, the worst in two centuries (Montanari, 2022), since 2023 the region faced two large-scale floods (2-17 May 2023, 18-19 September 2024), resulting in significant economic damage, thousands of displaced residents, and 17 deaths.

As shown in the aftermath of these events, community vulnerability stems not only from a disaster’s unpredictability but also from how people and institutions respond, often intensifying social and political impacts (Burns & Slovick, 2012). This makes risk communication crucial for building resilience, requiring a deeper understanding of citizens’ perceptions of flood risk and climate change to address information gaps and strengthen response capacity (Rollason et al., 2018; Jongman, 2018).

Our paper will present findings from a survey conducted within the "Risk Communication and Engagement for Societal Resilience" project, funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research through PNRR resources. The survey explores Italians' perception of flood risk under different dimensions, including climate change awareness. It employs both CATI (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing) and CAWI (Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing) techniques, sampling 2,500 respondents representative of the Italian population aged 15 and older, based on gender, age group, educational level, and province of residence. The survey will be conducted in two waves, the first is currently underway (October 2024), and the second will be carried out in April 2025.

The survey results will inform a public consultation with 100 Italian citizens, focus groups and interviews with stakeholders to further explore flood risk perceptions and develop new risk communication guidelines tailored to citizens' needs.