The 2023 Emilia-Romagna Geo-Hydrological Disaster: Critical Decision-Making Issues Identified by Literature Review

In May 2023, the Emilia-Romagna region (northern Italy) was hit by two unexpected extreme weather events that caused 17 deaths, the displacing of 50,000 people, and damages amounting to over 10 billion euros. Such a geo-hydrological disaster has stimulated scientific investigation, and tens of papers have been published. In this systematic review, peer-reviewed publications are examined with the aim of identifying critical issues relevant to the decision-making process. These questions are crucial for policy-makers and territorial government agencies, who play a direct and fundamental role in disaster management. The review was performed in accordance with the PRISMA method and by the citation and indexing databases of Scopus and Web of Science (WoS). Its main findings are summarized as follows: (1) in flood and landslide mitigation, land-use planning adequate to the climate-adjusted scenarios must be designed and implemented; (2) early warning systems should be people-centered and based on more advanced weather forecasts or new methods, like the elaboration of cellular geo-referenced data; (3) the use of integrated approaches based on machine learning and other modern technologies is increasingly being proposed to improve performance in disaster response. It is apparent that the reviewed literature can inform policy for improving government guidelines, rules, and decision-making in disaster management.