Calabria (Italy): An Interesting Case Study of Natural Hazard Risk

Natural hazards are generated by natural phenomena of different nature, for example extreme weather events, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, fires, landslides etc. These phenomena often cause serious consequences such as damage to the natural territory, to structures and infrastructures and loss of human lives. Generally, risk is the probability of damage due to the hazard of the events and its interaction with exposure and vulnerability of the affected humans and environments. Therefore, the understanding of the processes that generate natural phenomena, and their modeling, are key factors in the assessment, planning, and management phases of these risks and in the choice and design phases of adequate and sustainable mitigation measures. From this point of view, Calabria, a region in southern Italy, represents an interesting case study due to its geomorphological, climatic, hydrological, and anthropic peculiarities which make it extremely prone to natural disasters as happened several times in the past with earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, fires. Therefore, the paper, through the case study of Calabria, aims to describe and analyze the main natural disasters, identifying their potential trigger mechanisms. These phases are crucial for effective planning and management of territories subject to natural disasters and for identifying possible mitigation measures.