Flood of Bitti, a research by the Municipality and University of Sassari on hydrogeological risk

The University of Sassari and the Municipality of Bitti will conduct socio-economic research in the coming weeks, on the " Perception and communication of hydrogeological risk in the prevention and management of critical events", dedicated to the population of the Barbagia center hit on November 28, 2020 by a devastating flood , which caused three victims and more than one hundred million euros in damage.

The data collected with the collaboration of the citizens will make it possible to reconstruct the degree of collective awareness of the environmental risks associated with floods, the effectiveness of the planned prevention activities and, finally, the reactive capacity of the community in the face of the occurrence of such critical events. The research aims to investigate and reconstruct, respecting the different sensitivities, what the people of Bittese experienced during the flood. Residents will then be asked to fill in an online questionnaire using a smartphone, tablet or computer.

The project is part of an experimental scientific path already successfully implemented in other national and international contexts. The results of the analysis, as highlighted in the previous case studies, will be useful to broaden the knowledge of the real perception of risk and of the behaviors connected to and conditioned by them in the populations affected by flood events. The final result of the research will then be presented to the entire population during a public event that will take place in the village in the coming months at the conclusion of the works. The population is therefore invited to collaborate for a successful study, useful for the future of the people of Bittese and of the many citizens involved in these catastrophic events.

The start of the project will be illustrated with a public meeting on Wednesday 12 October at 6 pm in the premises of the former Justice of the Peace, in via Deffenu in Bitti. During the works, representatives of the municipal administration and the university research team will intervene.

(Unioneonline / EC)