Mitigation Action Plan Research Articles

Microplastics pollution load in Sundarban delta of Bay of Bengal

Microplastics have been reported in sediments, surface water, and aquatic organisms, including seafood, and thus transferred to food chains. This paper summarizes the emerging concern of microplastic pollution and highlights mitigation policies and action plans in the Sundarban Delta regions in Bay of Bengal. Sundarban is the largest mangrove forest with vibrant and rich biodiversity, facing severe threats because of human activities and climate change. Anthropogenic plastic litter has been found in the Bay of Bengal and thus also in Sundarban, which can cause substantial threats to mangrove forests. More than 56 tons of plastic wastes were found in the Sundarban immediately after the cyclone ‘Amphan’ in 2020 due to unregulated relief packaged materials using plastics. Interestingly, microplastics have also been found in the Bay of Bengal and Sundarban, ultimately transported from various rivers and waved off to the Sundarban mangrove. It has been observed that 4 million tonnes of microplastics have been discharged annually from various rivers of India and Bangladesh to Sundarban and the Bay of Bengal. Trophic transfer of microplastics and their bioaccumulation can result in significant ecological damage to the Sundarban delta. Although the governments of India and Bangladesh have been taking different policy measures for protecting the mangrove forest areas, more policy interventions are required to tackle emerging contaminants like microplastics. Other issues may also arise from huge load of microplastics, such as degradation of natural resources, unsustainable livelihoods, and poverty. In this regard, joint initiatives of both countries are required to consider pollution risk assessments, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable development.

Predicting the potential impact of forest fires on runoff and sediment loads using a distributed hydrological modeling approach

Forest fires profoundly affect the nature of watershed responses to precipitation, increases in runoff rate and volume, and post-fire sediment discharge. A post-fire watershed assessment to identify potential trouble spots for soil erosion and flooding can help land managers for decision-making on deploy mitigation, remediation measures, and restoration action plans. Predicting the potential impact of fires on runoff and soil erosion requires distributed hydrological modeling methods. This study used the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), a rainfall-runoff model, to investigate the hydrological consequences of forest fires and their impact on sediment load under different burnt scenarios. For the pre-fire (baseline) scenario, the watershed is calibrated by using the measured discharge and suspended sediment concentration data from the weather station during the time step to estimate post-fire changes at the sub-catchment scale. The total water and sediment yield for the selected sub-catchment in the post-fire scenario with the highest spatial distribution of forest fire, due to the excessive surface runoff (an increase of 14.5%) increased significantly, resulted in 6.5 times increase in sediment yield. The results obtained from the study indicate a significant increase in sediment transport into the stream in the post-fire scenario. A large volume of soil losses occurred during the time step. In contrast, due to removing trees and vegetation from the ground, less evapotranspiration and infiltration occurred in selected sub-catchment areas after forest fires. In terms of watershed management, understanding the consequences of forest fires on hydrological services will be an effective method for sediment budget control. Therefore, applying the rainfall-runoff and erosion models for the watershed with developing plausible forest fire scenarios can be a productive method to deal with the threats and hydrological risks such as soil erosion and sediment transfer to the downstream environment.

Long-term impacts of afforestation on biomass production, carbon stock, and climate resilience in a degraded semi-arid ravine ecosystem of India

The ravines are considered among highly degraded ecosystems where successful afforestation strategies can provide significant economic and ecological benefits. The present investigation assessed and compared the biomass, carbon stock (CS), and climate resilience potential of tree species in both degraded and afforested ravine lands of Western India. Results revealed a better growth performance and higher (P < 0.05) economic volume of tree species in afforested ravines, compared to degraded ravines. Among different tree species, Azadirachta indica was noted to be the dominant species in terms of density at both afforested and degraded sites. Dendrocalamus strictus and Prosopis juliflora produced higher (P < 0.05) stem volume at the afforested sites and degraded sites, respectively. Acacia nilotica and A. indica accrued greater (P < 0.05) biomass as well as CS at the afforested sites and degraded sites, respectively. Overall, in afforested ravines, the tree biomass, vegetation CS, and soil CS were assessed higher by 176 Mg ha−1, 88 Mg ha−1, and 3.50 Mg ha−1, respectively, compared to degraded ravine lands. The sum rank index indicated better performance of A. indica, A. nilotica, and D. strictus in afforested sites, and A. indica, P. juliflora, and Acacia senegal in degraded sites, under the changing climatic scenarios of ravine ecosystem. The results suggested that afforestation of degraded ravines have a strong potential to accumulate biomass and CS in both vegetation and soil systems, and therefore, these lands can be utilized as a major sink for sequestering the atmospheric C to expedite national mitigation and adaption action plan.

Disaster Risk Planning With Fuzzy Goal Programming.

The uncertainty in the timing and severity of disaster events makes the long-term planning of mitigation and recovery actions both critical and extremely difficult. Planners often use expected values for hazard occurrences, leaving communities vulnerable to worse-than-usual and even so-called "black swan" events. This research models disasters in terms of their best-case, most-likely, and worst-case damage estimates. These values are then embedded in a fuzzy goal programming model to provide community planners and stakeholders with the ability to strategize for any range of events from best-case to worst-case by adjusting goal weights. Examples are given illustrating the modeling approach, and an analysis is provided to illustrate how planners might use the model as a planning tool.

Achievable agricultural soil carbon sequestration across Europe from country-specific estimates.

The role of soils in the global carbon cycle and in reducing GHG emissions from agriculture has been increasingly acknowledged. The ‘4 per 1000’ (4p1000) initiative has become a prominent action plan for climate change mitigation and achieve food security through an annual increase in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks by 0.4%, (i.e. 4‰ per year). However, the feasibility of the 4p1000 scenario and, more generally, the capacity of individual countries to implement soil carbon sequestration (SCS) measures remain highly uncertain. Here, we evaluated country‐specific SCS potentials of agricultural land for 24 countries in Europe. Based on a detailed survey of available literature, we estimate that between 0.1% and 27% of the agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can potentially be compensated by SCS annually within the next decades. Measures varied widely across countries, indicating differences in country‐specific environmental conditions and agricultural practices. None of the countries' SCS potential reached the aspirational goal of the 4p1000 initiative, suggesting that in order to achieve this goal, a wider range of measures and implementation pathways need to be explored. Yet, SCS potentials exceeded those from previous pan‐European modelling scenarios, underpinning the general need to include national/regional knowledge and expertise to improve estimates of SCS potentials. The complexity of the chosen SCS measurement approaches between countries ranked from tier 1 to tier 3 and included the effect of different controlling factors, suggesting that methodological improvements and standardization of SCS accounting are urgently required. Standardization should include the assessment of key controlling factors such as realistic areas, technical and practical feasibility, trade‐offs with other GHG and climate change. Our analysis suggests that country‐specific knowledge and SCS estimates together with improved data sharing and harmonization are crucial to better quantify the role of soils in offsetting anthropogenic GHG emissions at global level.

Towards the EU Green Deal: Local key factors to achieve ambitious 2030 climate targets

Cities representing more than one third of the EU population have already developed their mitigation action plans with the support of the Covenant of Mayors initiative. This study digs into the drivers leading European cities in setting ambitious GHG reduction targets by 2030. A total number of 246 local action plans, accepted in the Covenant of Mayors initiative, were evaluated, and ambitious municipalities (with reduction targets over 50%) were compared against those committing to regular targets (40–50%).Results show that the key factor enabling a higher climate ambition in cities is to develop local mitigation actions in line with the results of the baseline emission inventory, focusing on implementing actions in the most emitting sectors of activity. Furthermore, the study reveals the abilities of specific cities to set highly ambitious mitigation targets: to municipalise energy facilities increasing renewable energy production, and to be able of developing mitigation actions even tackling highly emitting sectors (e.g., transport) that traditionally are not under the competence of local governments.The study also shows other easy-to-reach solutions that every local authority can take into account to increase its ambition such as developing in-house action plans and conducting a deep stakeholder engagement and participatory processes from the initial stage of the action plan development.

Migration management to reduce the risk of climate change: government perspective

This research is driven by the phenomenon of the increasing trend of population migration from agricultural and coastal areas due to climate change. The impact of climate change that is felt most severely by the population is the reduction in agricultural production, which then impacts decreasing household income. To meet household economic needs, some residents respond by migrating outside the village in search of work. This research uses a qualitative approach with in-depth interview techniques, Focus Group Discussion (FGD), and observation. The research locations were East and North Lombok Regency, NTB Province. The results showed no management of migration due to the impact of climate change by the NTB provincial government and district governments. There are no programs aimed at facilitating migration due to the impacts of climate change. Therefore it is necessary to include migration as a strategic issue in the adaptation and mitigation action plan to address the impacts of climate change at both the national and regional levels with the Ministry of Manpower and its aides-de-camp as the sector leading.

The root causes of landslide vulnerability in Bangladesh

Communities living in the Chittagong Hill Districts (CHD) of Bangladesh recurrently observe landslide disasters during the monsoon season (June–September). CHD is primarily dominated by three distinct groups of hill communities, namely, urbanised hill (Bengali), indigenous tribal and stateless Rohingya refugees. Landslide vulnerability amongst them is complex and varies between physical, social, economic, environmental, institutional and cultural dimensions. This study aims to understand driving forces of landslide disasters in the region by emphasising human factors. Data from the three contrasting communities were collected through participatory workshops, in-depth interviews and fieldwork observation. The participants were local people and landslide experts who were purposefully selected from five case study communities in the CHD. They ranked different socio-economic problems, identified causes of landslides and proposed landslide mitigation action plans. Results suggest that the urbanised Bengali and Rohingya refugee communities are highly vulnerable to landslides. The urbanised hill communities largely deal with poverty, social injustice, lack of planning regulations and illegal hill cutting issues, whereas the Rohingya refugees’ predominant constraints are linked to the ongoing genocide and state-sponsored violence in Myanmar hindering their sustainable repatriation, and their protracted living conditions in Bangladesh. The indigenous tribal communities are comparatively resilient to landslides due to their unique history, traditional knowledge, cultural heritage and lifestyle. Landslides in the CHD should be characterised as socio-natural hazards since the components of landslide disasters are profoundly intertwined with the culture–conflict–corruption nexus.

Antimicrobial resistance in poultry: Concerns as transboundary health problem and mitigation strategies

The burgeoning issue of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is being recognized as the biggest threat to human health worldwide. It is now emerging as an important transboundary problem with many of the infections having potent zoonotic potential. Use of antibiotics in poultry especially given in feed at sub-therapeutic doses for growth promotion has raised many questions as there has been increase in AMR in pathogens both of human and animal/poultry origin in recent years. Poultry including wild birds may act as reservoirs of resistant bacteria or their resistance genes, which may be transmitted to other bacteria and pose a serious problem for poultry as well as human health. Migratory birds can transmit such infections/resistance genes across countries. AMR profiling of poultry pathogens is essential so as to assess the extent of antimicrobial resistance prevailing in them and this information can be utilized in devising strategies to reduce AMR. Reports on AMR profiling of important pathogens of poultry viz. E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Clostridium perfringens in India are available. However, studies on this aspect are fragmentary, confined to small regions and most of them with assessment of phenotypic resistance. Thus, comprehensive studies representing pan India picture is essentially required both on AMR and antimicrobial use (AMU) so as to devise the action plan for mitigation of AMR. Different alternative strategies need to be adopted in poultry farming in India like biosecurity, good management and nutrition, vaccination, education/training, diagnostics and optimal use of antibiotics after sensitivity testing to avoid dependence on antimicrobials and thereby prevent AMR.

Outdoor and indoor factors influencing particulate matter and carbon dioxide levels in naturally ventilated urban homes

ABSTRACT The present study investigated indoor and outdoor concentrations of two particulate matter size fractions (PM10 and PM2.5) and CO2 in 20 urban homes ventilated naturally and located in one congested residential and commercial area in the city of Alexandria, Egypt. The results indicate that the daily mean PM2.5 concentrations measured in the ambient air, living rooms, and kitchens of all sampling sites exceeded the WHO guideline by 100%, 65%, and 95%, respectively. The daily mean outdoor and indoor PM10 levels in all sampling sites were found to exceed the WHO guideline by 100% and 80%, respectively. The indoor PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations were significantly correlated with their corresponding outdoor levels, as natural ventilation through opening doors and windows allowed direct transfer of outdoor airborne particles into the indoor air. Most of the kitchens investigated had higher indoor concentrations of PM2.5 and CO2 than in living rooms. The elevated levels of PM2.5 and CO2 in domestic kitchens were probably related to inadequate ventilation. The current study attempted to understand the sources and the various indoor and outdoor factors that affect indoor PM10, PM2.5 and CO2 concentrations. Several domestic activities, such as smoking, cooking, and cleaning, were found to constitute important sources of indoor air pollution. The indoor pollution caused by PM2.5 was also found to be more serious in the domestic kitchens than in the living rooms and the results suggest that exposure to PM2.5 is high and highlights the need for more effective control measures. Implications: Indoor air pollution is a complex problem that involves many determinant factors. Understanding the relationships and the influence of various indoor and outdoor factors on indoor air quality is very important to prioritize control measures and mitigation action plans. There is currently a lack of research studies in Egypt to investigate determinant factors controlling indoor air quality for urban homes. The present study characterizes the indoor and outdoor concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, and CO2 in residential buildings in Alexandria city. The study also determines the indoor and outdoor factors which influence the indoor PM and CO2 concentrations as well as it evaluates the potential indoor sources in the selected homes. This research will help in the development of future indoor air quality standards for Egypt.

A changing Amazon rainforest: Historical trends and future projections under post-Paris climate scenarios

Abstract Despite the progress in sustainable development strategies, the role of the Amazon rainforest as a carbon sink faces increasing disturbances that may have a critical impact on global climate. Understanding the vulnerability of the Amazon rainforest to climate change is a major challenge, considering the complex interaction between human and natural systems. This paper aims, via an interdisciplinary approach, to assess the observed evolution and possible future of the Amazon rainforest, considering different global climate and socio-economic scenarios. By comparing historical with plausible future developments, we present key knowledge to inform mitigation and regional adaptation policy considerations. As an entry point, historical trends of annual mean temperature and precipitation were analysed. In a second step, the same assessment was made for the mean annual NDVI sum (a proxy of yearly plant productivity), representing vegetation strength. For these purposes, a 34-year period (1982–2015) was considered. Trends were analysed based on non-parametric Mann-Kendall and Sen's methods. With this representation of the past, the next step focused on future scenarios. The most plausible global emission pathways were evaluated via the comparison of ten assessments of the possible effects of the mitigation action plans of national governments, as stated in the National Determined Contributions (NDCs). Results indicate a strong consensus that if either current policies, unconditional or conditional NDCs are fulfilled, the limit of global warming by “well below 2 °C” will be exceeded. In this context, climate projections for the Amazon suggest, among other results, an increase in the range of 1.3 °C (lower limit under SSP1-2.6) to 6.5 °C (upper limit under SSP5-8.5). Unlike temperature, positive and negative anomalies are expected for precipitation depending on location. Despite the uncertainty regarding the projections, possible changes such as forest diebacks and savannization may take place, namely in southeastern Amazon, by the end of the century. Overall, this study highlights the importance of carefully considering the combination of different factors, such as deforestation, to guarantee rainforest resilience under climate-driven changes.

A Simulation-Based Failure Mode Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Control and Prevention in Emergency Departments.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)] outbreak has been declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted problems of sustainable infection prevention and control measures worldwide, particularly the emerging issues with an insufficient supply of personal protective equipment. The aim of this study was to provide an action plan for mitigation of occupational hazards and nosocomial spread of SARS-CoV-2 through a failure mode analysis based on observations during in situ simulations. A multicenter, cross-sectional, observational, simulation-based study was performed in Latvia from March 2 to 26, 2020. This study was conducted at 7 hospitals affiliated with Riga Stradiņš University. The presentation of a COVID-19 patient was simulated with an in situ simulations, followed by a structured debrief. Healthcare Failure Modes and Effects Analysis is a tool for conducting a systematic, proactive analysis of a process in which harm may occur. We used Healthcare Failure Modes and Effects Analysis to analyze performance gaps and systemic issues. A total of 67 healthcare workers from 7 hospitals participated in the study (range = 4-17). A total of 32 observed failure modes were rated using a risk matrix. Twenty-seven failure modes (84.4%) were classified as either medium or high risk or were single-point weaknesses, hence evaluated for action type and action; 11 (40.7%) were related to organizational, 11 (40.7%) to individual, and 5 (18.5%) to environmental factors. Simulation-based failure mode analysis helped us identify the risks related to the preparedness of the healthcare workers and emergency departments for the COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia. We believe that this approach can be implemented to assess and maintain readiness for the outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases in the future.

Coastal and settlement typologies-based tsunami modeling along the northern Sumatra seismic gap zone for disaster risk reduction action plans

Since after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, multiple efforts have been carried out to investigate the occurrence potential of tsunami-generating earthquakes. One of the studies concluded that large earthquakes are expected to occur along the seismic gap zone in the west coast of Sumatra and thus have the potential to generate tsunamis. The objectives of the research are to (1) investigate the existence of the seismic gap zone and to calculate the potential energy of expected earthquakes along the zone; (2) develop a tsunami model based on the relation between tsunami amplitude, arrival time, and coastal and settlement typologies; and (3) suggest tsunami mitigation action plans for surrounding areas in order to reduce the risk of disaster. The earthquake distribution in Aceh indicates the presence of a seismic gap zone in the west coast of Aceh, indicated by the decrease in seismic activities within the area since 2008. The potential energy is equivalent to an Mw 8.7 earthquake. The earthquake has the potential to generate a tsunami with a maximum amplitude of 20 m in the west coast of Aceh. An analytic hierarchy process (AHP) analysis was applied to determine the hazard and vulnerability levels. Having the information of hazards and vulnerability, we derived the priority level of the study area and suggested the tsunami mitigation action that needs to be applied to the area. The results indicate that the AHP method gave stable results in the determination of the vulnerability, hazard, and priority levels and thus can be used for other regions of similar coastal and settlement typologies.The results also show that Banda Aceh, Calang, and Meulaboh cities are zones of priority level 1, where all components of tsunami action plans should be implemented, comprising (1) the provision of an early warning system and related information; (2) the construction of evacuation routes and buildings; (3) the improvement of knowledge of disaster risk; and (4) the strengthening of awareness and preparedness. All action plans should be applied for Blang Pidie, as the city is included in an area of priority level 2. For the areas with priority level 3, including Tapak Tuan, and Singkil, the government should improve knowledge of disaster risk and strengthen community awareness and preparedness.

An interdisciplinary approach to identify zones vulnerable to earthquakes

Earthquakes in Peru are responsible for enormous material and human losses. One of the reasons for the latter is that risk and disaster management policies do not consider individuals as a significant factor for planning post-disaster activities. An understanding of all-important aspects that influence post-disaster efforts would reduce the number of dead, injured and affected people as well as the required money and time to invest. This research develops an interdisciplinary approach, based on seismic vulnerability, to identify those zones that need immediate attention after an earthquake. We consider vulnerability to be a result of two dimensions: social and physical. The first describes society by its anthropogenic characteristics through social indicators (age, daily income, education, etc.). The second describes the built environment and the main features of infrastructure. The results show that the physical and social dimensions intersect and interact with fairly consistent regularity. Thus, we are then able to more accurately identify the areas that require higher prioritization in an emergency scenario. Having this data available for regions predisposed to earthquakes will allow for substantial improvements to current risk mitigation action plans as well as the promotion of a more comprehensive prevention effort.

A proposed conceptual action plan for identification, assessment and mitigation of supply chain risks

Any disruption can disturb many organisations and even the whole system. There are many theories and frameworks that present a solution but no study is available that theoretically development fram...

A proposed conceptual action plan for identification, assessment and mitigation of supply chain risks

A proposed conceptual action plan for identification, assessment and mitigation of supply chain risks

Probabilistic long‐term hydrological drought forecast using Bayesian networks and drought propagation

AbstractEffective drought mitigation plans that can handle severe drought conditions require reliable drought forecasts. A probabilistic hydrological drought forecasting method was developed using Bayesian networks that incorporate dynamic model predictions and a drought propagation relationship. The resulting model, Bayesian networks based drought forecasting with drought propagation (BNDF_DP), was designed using current and forecast lead time drought conditions of a multi‐model ensemble. Hydrological drought conditions were represented by the Palmer Hydrological Drought Index. The ranked probability score (RPS) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were employed to measure forecast proficiency. The BNDF_DP model showed good performance, with an RPS 4–50% higher than a climatological model. ROC analysis indicated that the BNDF_DP offered superior forecasting skills for long‐term drought, with a 2 and 3 month lead time, compared with a model that does not consider drought propagation. The overall results indicated that the BNDF_DP model was a promising tool for probabilistic drought forecasting that can provide water managers and decision‐makers with the flexibility to respond to undesirable drought risks, prepare drought mitigation action plans and regulate policies based on future uncertainties.

Spatial structure of surface urban heat island and its relationship with vegetation and built-up areas in Melbourne, Australia

Due to the intensity of urban development around the world, there is an increasing body of studies attempting to investigate urban heat island (UHI) in various spatial and temporal scales. In surface heat urban island (SUHI) studies, extended periods of time, broader regions and local government area (LGA) level have become more crucial and will shed light on causes of UHI. Moreover, the spatial pattern and structure of SUHI will be useful for policy-makers to develop mitigation strategies. This study focused on three objectives. Firstly, analyzing land surface temperature (LST), normalized difference built-up (NDBI) and vegetation (NDVI) indices. Secondly, investigating interrelationships among LST, NDVI, and NDBI. Thirdly, identifying LST patterns in the Melbourne metropolitan area. These objectives were achieved through three different methods. The modified automatic mapping method for the first objective, the correlation analysis for the second, and spatial statistical methods for the third. The methodological innovations of this study were considering LGA in interrelationship analysis among LST, NDBI and NDVI, and calculation of NDVI for each acquisition date. The results indicated that the clustering pattern of LST expanded toward the north-west and south-east during the period of the study. Furthermore, the north-west part of the city has the highest positive (0.6) correlation between NDBI and LST, and the south-east part of the city has the lowest negative (−0.8) correlation between NDVI and LST. The most significant increase and decrease in mean LST happened respectively from January 6th to 22nd 2017, and January 14th to 30th January 2014. The temperature degree altered from 19.61 °C to 27.86 °C in inner western suburbs, and from 35.49 °C to 26.88 °C in most LGA's. These findings are critical for planners to localize UHI mitigation action plans, target hot spots in LGA's and allocate resources to respond to the adverse effect of UHI.

Assessment of Residents’ Exposure to Leisure Noise in Málaga (Spain)

Leisure noise is a continual source of complaints from residents of affected areas, and its management poses a difficult challenge for local authorities, especially in tourist destinations, such as Málaga. The city council of this city has set a goal of mitigating the noise produced by leisure activities. In 2015, it began mitigation actions, starting with the assessment of the noise through a temporal monitoring campaign in two specific areas of the city where leisure activities are prevalent. Beyond the objective assessment of the noise levels through measurements, the research team programmed several communication actions (a) to improve the trust, visibility, and reliability of the noise-monitoring process through press and social networks and (b) to gather the subjective response to noise from residents in the affected areas. The results obtained were very helpful to raise awareness among stakeholders and to support the planning and prioritization of further noise mitigation actions. Furthermore, the research team aimed to analyze the long-term noise indicators and the time-based patterns of noise in different areas, trying to establish conclusions that can be helpful for other areas of the city and testing the applicability of previous leisure noise models for the city of Málaga. The results showed that the noise levels in the leisure areas in Málaga are quite high at night (Ln over 60 dBA in almost every location), especially during weekend nights, where we observed locations with noise levels over 75–80 dBA until late hours of the night. We also made an analysis of the leisure noise models proposed in previous investigations and their performance in the case of Málaga.

A GIS-based procedure for preliminary mapping of pluvial flood risk at metropolitan scale

A GIS-based procedure for mapping pluvial flood risk in urban areas is proposed; risk is expressed through an index calculated as the sum of susceptibility and potential impact, combined in a matrix. The susceptibility is defined as the probability of a flooding to occur, because of the ground morphology and the spatial probability density of historical floodings. The potential impact was evaluated by considering the consequences of damages on human health, environment, cultural heritages and economic activities, and accounts for the potential cost of damage. Both the susceptibility and the potential impact are calculated by elaborations of base-data in GIS environment. Despite many limitations, the methodology furnishes a tool for a preliminary screening of areas potentially subjected to pluvial flood, useful for a municipal scale mapping. It permits comparative analysis for detecting areas higher at risk, helping prioritizing the emergency management and the planning of mitigation actions.