Multiple Effects of Intense Meteorological Events in the Benevento Province, Southern Italy

Abstract

In October 2015, two intense rainfall events hit the central and southern regions of Italy and triggered a combination of different and widespread effects, including floods, landslides, and soil erosion. These outcomes devastated about 68 municipalities of the Benevento province (Campania region), killed two people, and caused millions of euros worth of damage to structures, infrastructures, and agriculture. The town of Benevento was one of the sectors most affected by overflow. Extensive areas characterized by flyschoid outcrops experienced widespread occurrences of soil erosion and landslides, and destructive, high-velocity debris flows (about 50) afflicted areas that had experienced heavy rainfall of higher intensity (total rainfall of 415.6 mm). In this study, the characteristics of these rainfall events and related geomorphological processes were determined by (i) analyzing the available rainfall data to identify the spatial pattern, distribution, and statistical characteristics of the two storms and (ii) mapping the storm effects, such as flooded areas, landslide types, and soil erosion. These effects were then related to the spatial distribution of the storms and the local geological and geomorphologic settings that drove their initiation and development.

Rewinding the Tape: Documentary Heritage to (Re)discover “Lost” Natural Hazards—Evidence and Inferences from Southern Italy

“…The situation in October 1961 is representative of a not rare meteorological condition which, as already found in the historical analysis, involves the repetition of rainfall events of high intensity a few days apart from each other. In this regard, a similar situation occurred during the flood event of 15 October 2015, which was followed on 19 October by a second event with similar characteristics [62,63].…”

Rainstorm Magnitude and Debris Flows in Pyroclastic Deposits Covering Steep Slopes of Karst Reliefs in San Martino Valle Caudina (Campania, Southern Italy)

“…village, causing widespread damage. The storm of 1949 affected a wide area of the Campania region, and many catastrophic floods occurred in other places [19]. Although historical information is less detailed for this event in this area, no landslides appear to have occurred in 1949.…”

Calculating Economic Flood Damage through Microscale Risk Maps and Data Generalization: A Pilot Study in Southern Italy

“…The most recent overflow of the Calore River and some of its tributaries occurred on 14-15 October 2015, hitting Benevento and the central part of its province. The intense meteorological event (maximum intensity of 27.4 mm/10 min and maximum cumulative rainfall of 415.6 mm recorded in 19 h at the rain gauge at Paupisi, about 12 km from Benevento) caused two casualties and multiple ground effects, such as flooding, soil erosion, and landslides over wide areas [31,32,35,36]. Estimates of the Campania Region Authority and Italian Farmer Confederation computed damage to buildings, infrastructure, and local agriculture at 700 million and 1 billion Euros, respectively.…”

“…With the final aim of providing exploitable flood risk maps, this study uses data related to the historical flooding that occurred in the province of Benevento from previous studies [29][30][31][32]; furthermore, hazard levels are deduced from alluvial hazard maps of the Benevento province [33,34], designed to provide easy-to-understand information on the annual probability of flooding on the major river segments. The analysis provides new and useful perspectives on current flood risk assessment across Benevento.…”