The first product of MOVIDA is a geographic database where all the main input data for damage assessment are stored in a homogeneous way. Moreover, when available data proved to be highly heterogeneous and fragmented, new informative layers were produced, as in the case of cultural heritage, natural environment, and strategic buildings. The database is at the disposal of the Po River District Authority and of the several institutions responsible for flood risk management in the district.
Second, a procedure for flood damage assessment was developed. The level of analysis achieved varies with the considered type of assets, according to the inhomogeneous level of development of damage models (Figure 3). In detail, we identified models for estimating direct damage in monetary terms for residential buildings and a limited number of crops; for economic activities and livestock we estimated instead the exposed economic value. With respect to people, critical infrastructures, cultural and environmental heritage, we assessed their amount within the potentially flooded areas, and classified them according to some vulnerability features. For the case of cultural heritage, given its importance in the Italian context, an ad-hoc procedure was developed to estimate damage, even though in qualitative terms (i.e., low to high damage classes). Indirect damage estimation was instead not feasible, although an attempt was made to estimate impacts of roads and railways interruption (see also Table 1 for a comparison with other Member States). In this context, the necessity to compare inhomogeneous quantities having different meanings (e.g., damage versus exposed value) and metrics (e.g., economic loss, physical damage, qualitative damage) was tackled by implementing a participative process, which led to the definition of a qualitative index, representative of the total expected impact of a hazard scenario.
The third product is the open Information Systems ISYDE that includes ad-hoc developed GIS-based models, enabling the implementation of the MOVIDA procedure in a semi-automatic way, also by non-expert users. The use of ISYDE is supported by a user guide and training videos.
The final product of MOVIDA is then a comprehensive set of tools supporting decision-making on flood risk mitigation based on expected risk scenarios, overcoming the limitations of current approaches based only on hazard knowledge. In this regard, in the context of the 2021 revision of the FRMP of the Po District, the MOVIDA tools have been used by project partners and institutions of the district to update expected damage scenarios in all APSFRs. The procedure was further applied to support the definition of high priority mitigation strategies within the plan and it is currently used to evaluate the effectiveness, and then the sustainability, of individual mitigation actions.
The procedure and its supporting tools still present room for improvement. However, we think that the change in paradigms performed in the MOVIDA project (towards an analytic assessment of flood damage) is an irreversible process, especially considering advancements brought within decision making. The partnership between academia and institutions, which should be replicated in the future, also in other countries, proved to be successful to this aim; funds dedicated to flood resilience within the Next Generation EU programme represent a real opportunity of action.