Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 14, 2589–2603, 2014 www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/14/2589/2014/ doi:10.5194/nhess-14-2589-2014 © Author(s) 2014. CC Attribution 3.0 License. Perception of flood and landslide risk in Italy: a preliminary analysis P. Salvati, C. Bianchi, F. Fiorucci, P. Giostrella, I. Marchesini, and F. Guzzetti CNR IRPI, via Madonna Alta 126, 06128 Perugia, Italy Correspondence to: P. Salvati (p.salvati@irpi.cnr.it) Received: 21 March 2014 – Published in Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss.: 15 May 2014 Revised: – – Accepted: 7 August 2014 – Published: 29 September 2014 Abstract. Inundations and landslides are widespread phe- nomena in Italy, where they cause severe damage and pose a threat to the population. Little is known about the pub- lic perception of landslide and flood risk. This is surpris- ing, as an accurate perception is important for the successful implementation of many risk reduction or adaptation strate- gies. In an attempt to address this gap, we have conducted two national surveys to measure the perception of landslide and flood risk amongst the population of Italy. The surveys were conducted in 2012 and 2013, and consisted of approxi- mately 3100 computer-assisted telephone interviews for each survey. The samples of the interviewees were statistically representative for a national-scale quantitative assessment. The interviewees were asked questions designed to obtain information on (i) their perception of natural, environmen- tal, and technological risks, (ii) direct experience or general knowledge of the occurrence of landslides and floods in their municipality, (iii) perception of the possible threat posed by landslides and floods to their safety, (iv) general knowledge on the number of victims affected by landslides or floods, and on (v) the factors that the interviewees considered important for controlling landslide and flood risks in Italy. The surveys revealed that the population of Italy fears technological risks more than natural risks. Of the natural risks, earthquakes were considered more dangerous than floods, landslides, and volcanic eruptions. Examination of the temporal and geo- graphical distributions of the responses revealed that the oc- currence of recent damaging events influenced risk percep- tion locally, and that the perception persisted longer for earth- quakes and decreased more rapidly for landslides and floods. We explain the difference by the diverse consequences of the risks. The interviewees considered inappropriate land man- agement the main cause of landslide and food risk, followed by illegal construction, abandonment of the territory, and cli- mate change. Comparison of the risk perception with actual measures of landslide and flood risk, including the number of fatal events, the number of fatalities, and the mortality rates, revealed that in most of the Italian regions, the perception of the threat did not match the long-term risk posed to the population by landslides and floods. This outcome points to a need to foster an understanding of the public towards land- slide and flood hazards and risks in Italy. 1 Introduction Landslides and floods are recurrent and abundant phenom- ena in Italy, where they cause damage and pose a threat to the population (Guzzetti et al., 1994; Guzzetti and Tonelli, 2004). Landslide and flood hazards, and the associated risk, have been determined on various geographical scales in Italy, from the site-specific (local) to the synoptic (national) scale. On the local scale, detailed investigations have produced zonations of landslide and flood hazards and risks (“Piani di Assetto Idrogeologico”), which are used to design defen- sive structures and to implement mitigation strategies. On the synoptic scale, investigators have estimated the individ- ual and collective risk posed by landslides and floods to the population (Guzzetti et al., 2005a; Salvati et al., 2010, 2012). Despite these efforts, little is known regarding the public per- ception of the risk posed by landslides and floods in Italy. This is surprising, because an appropriate perception of the risk is important for the successful implementation of risk reduction or adaptation strategies. In an attempt to address this gap, in 2012 and 2013, we executed two national surveys to probe the perception of the population of Italy of landslide and flood risk. The two surveys were executed by conducting more than 3000 tele- phone interviews, and they provided sufficient information to perform a preliminary evaluation of the perception that Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union.