Tsunami Ready, a public engagement tool for risk mitigation: The Italian experience

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Published: 2025-03-03
DOI: https://doi.org/10.13127/jgsg-67
Keywords:
Tsunami risk, Risk perception, Tsunami ready, People-centred early warning, Safe ocean

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Alessandro Amato
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome, Italy
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9521-6570
Lorenzo Cugliari
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome, Italy
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6889-3915
Silvia Filosa
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome, Italy
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0401-0516
Laura Graziani
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome, Italy
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4088-7841
Fabrizio Romano
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome, Italy
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2725-3596
Cecilia Valbonesi
UnitelmaSapienza, Criminal Law Department, Rome, Italy

Abstract

In this article, we describe the functioning of a Tsunami Warning (and mitigation) System (TWS), with particular attention to its downstream component. Besides the scientific and technological developments of such systems, it is important that scientists get involved with society at various levels to help reducing the tsunami risk, supporting actions by local communities and authorities, and supporting the interface between science and policy. In particular, we point our attention to the importance of involving citizens in the risk reduction strategy, starting from the background of the UN Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) 2015-2030 which focus on people and their needs: There has to be a broader and a more people-centred preventive approach to disaster risk. The approach of the Italian Tsunami Alert Center of the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) for tsunami risk mitigation involves several activities aimed at increasing people’s awareness and preparedness, including the UNESCO IOC Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme (TRRP) discussed in this contribution. After describing the study of tsunami risk perception carried out in recent years in Italy, we focus on the experience gained in our country over the past four years, particularly examining the TRRP of Minturno, the first Italian municipality to receive this recognition in July 2024.

Article Details

Issue

Vol. 2 No. Special Issue (2025): 25 Years of Advancing Geoethics and Social Geosciences at INGV

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Special
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Author Biographies

Alessandro Amato, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome, Italy

Geologist, with a PhD in Geophysics. He is currently a Research Director at the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV). He has studied many earthquakes in Italy and the Mediterranean area. He has coordinated several national and international projects, including research in Antarctica and in tsunami science and risk mitigation. He has been the Director of the National Earthquake Center at INGV (2001-2007 and 2012-2013) and from 2017 he is the Coordinator of the Italian Tsunami Alert Center. He has been a member of the National High Risk Commission, Seismic Section (2001-2004) and Tsunami Section (2023-present). In February 2024 he was elected Chair of the UNESCO-IOC Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the North East Atlantic, Mediterranean and connected sea Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (NEAMTWS). He is active in science communication. He is author and curator of scientific books, including two collective volumes on the relationship between Science and Law. 

Lorenzo Cugliari, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome, Italy

Sociologist, research fellow at the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), PhD candidate in Communication and Social Research at Sapienza, Sapienza University of Rome and member of the UNESCO Ocean Expert Group. He is first author of studies on tsunami risk perception, communication through public warning systems, natural hazard communication and technology-mediated science communication. He studies the social impact of Early Warning Systems to citizens and tailored and people-centred communication. He is also involved in Tsunami Ready activities for tsunami risk mitigation to coastal communities.

Silvia Filosa, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome, Italy

She works at the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) since 2000, focusing on historical seismology and collaborating with European and International Projects such as EPOS ERIC, where she contributes to outreach, dissemination, and public engagement activities. She is currently a member of the Communication Team at the Italian Tsunami Warning Centre (CAT-INGV). She holds a Second-Level Master's Degree in Science Communication and Scientific Research, a Master's Degree in Archival Science, and a Bachelor's Degree in Modern Languages and Literature.

Laura Graziani, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome, Italy

She is a Researcher with a Master of Science in Physics from the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. Her research focuses mainly on study of historical earthquakes and tsunamis in the Euro-Mediterranean region, as well as the implementation of tsunami catalogues. She is involved in the development and implementation of the Italian Tsunami Warning System (CAT-INGV) and she is a member of the CAT-INGV Steering Committee. She is also Coordinator of the INGV Emergency Team QUEST (QUick Earthquake Survey Team).

Fabrizio Romano, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome, Italy

He is Researcher at the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) with a degree in Physics and a PhD in Geophysics (University of Bologna), focusing his research on the rupture processes of tsunamigenic earthquakes, particularly through tsunami numerical modeling and the inversion of geophysical data. He is involved with different roles in many European Research Projects; his work also extends to tsunami hazards and warning systems, and he is one of the co-founders of the Italian Tsunami Warning Center (CAT-INGV). He is currently a member of both the CAT-INGV and the ICG/NEAMTWS Steering Committees. He also serves as co-chair of the ICG/NEAMTWS Task Team on Non-Seismic Tsunami Sources.

Cecilia Valbonesi, UnitelmaSapienza, Criminal Law Department, Rome, Italy

She is Researcher in Criminal Law at UnitelmaSapienza University of Rome, Research Associate at the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), consultant to the INGV Tsunami Warning Centre and Chair of Working Group 4 “Public Awareness, Preparedness and Mitigation” in The Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami Early Warning System of the IOC UNESCO. She has published, among others, the monograph Valbonesi C., 2022. Rischio terremoto e rischio maremoto, Napoli: Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane, and co-edited Amato A., Flora G., Valbonesi C. (eds.), 2019. Scienza, processo e diritto penale nell’era del rischio, Torino: Giappichelli. 

How to Cite

Amato, A., Cugliari, L., Filosa, S., Graziani, L., Romano, F., & Valbonesi, C. (2025). Tsunami Ready, a public engagement tool for risk mitigation: The Italian experience. JOURNAL OF GEOETHICS AND SOCIAL GEOSCIENCES, 2(Special Issue), 1-28. https://doi.org/10.13127/jgsg-67

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