"INNOVATIVE DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR THE HYDRO-METEOROLOGICAL EMERGENCIES IN VAL POLCEVERA” PROJECT
The objective of the “INNOVATIVE DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR THE HYDRO-METEOROLOGICAL EMERGENCIES IN VAL POLCEVERA” project is the experimentation of Smart Rainfall System - SRS, an innovative service for the resilience of the territories to extreme weather events developed by the University of Genoa and Artys (a UNIGE spin-off company), in the trans-municipal area of the Polcevera torrent. With more than 115.000 residents, industrial activities and strategic intermodal mobility infrastructures, the Val Polcevera is a relevant territory for testing and demonstrating a new sustainable technology that aims at enabling a better management of the hydro-meteorological emergencies.
The valley comprises the Municipalities of Genoa, Campomorone, Ceranesi, Mignanego, S. Olcese and Serra Riccò, within the territory scope of the Metropolitan City of Genoa. Under the coordination of the Metropolitan City of Genoa, the six Municipalities of Val Polcevera have been involved in the experimentation of SRS by supporting the installation of an innovative network of rainfall sensors at public buildings (such as school and street lighting poles). Thanks to such initiative, the public administrations can experience the use of the SRS’ Decision Support System to undertake timely and effective emergency management actions to save lives and properties from the effects of extreme weather.
SRS continuously elaborates detailed rainfall intensity maps in real-time by exploiting a disruptive rainfall monitoring technology that analyzes the fade of satellite television signals measured by a network of low- power IoT devices connected to common TV parabolic antennas. The unprecedented level of detail of the rainfall maps elaborated by SRS allows recognizing the time-space evolution of severe rainstorms over the complex network of rivers of the Metropolitan territory. With SRS, the local Civil Protection bodies of the Val Polcevera Municipalities can evaluate in the short-term the flash flood hazard expected based on the accurate knowledge of the ongoing atmospheric conditions.
The first success case of the project occurred in January 2021, when a persistent medium-intensity rain event hit the Val Polcevera and caused a limited flood of the SP35 provincial road close to the railway intersection. SRS was the only system capable of recognizing a flood alert level approximately 30 minutes before the event, a sufficient lead time to activate emergency management actions.
The SRS experimentation in Val Polcevera represents a success case of a joint transformational effort driven by multi-level governments (metropolitan and municipal) that are moving the needle on climate change through the valorization of the technology transfer from local research entities to the industry sector.
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