Fausto Guzzetti presents: Geo-hydrological hazards in a warming climate

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Geo-hydrological hazards in a warming climate

Climate change is unequivocal. However, the effects of a warming climate on geohydrological hazards, in particular floods and landslides, remain difficult to identify and predict. In the talk, I will discuss flood and landslide hazards in a warming climate. I begin the talk by presenting general facts about the temporal and spatial occurrence of natural hazards. Using some key works from the literature, I then present my understanding of flood and landslide hazards and their impacts in a warming climate. Based on my experience at the Italian Department of Civil Protection, in the final part of my presentation, I will discuss key issues and challenges in using information and knowledge on flood and landslide hazards for risk reduction.

Fausto Guzzetti Biography

As a researcher at the Italian National Research Council (CNR), I spent most of my research career at the Research Institute for Geo-Hydrological Protection (IRPI) in Perugia, where I studied landslides and other hazards.

After graduating in Geology from the University of Perugia (1983), I spent a year (1985-1986) at the U.S. Geological Survey (USA) and I obtained a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Bonn (2004) with a thesis on landslide hazard and risk assessment. I have been Director of the CNR Research Institute for Geo-Hydrological Protection (2009-2019) and Director general for Technical and scientific activities for risk prediction and prevention of the Italian Department of civil protection, and office of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (2019-2023). I was President of the Natural Hazards division of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) (2002-2006).

My research interests have evolved over the years from landslide mapping and documentation of landslide events, to modelling of landslide susceptibility, to a formal definition and modelling of landslide hazard and its components, to the prediction of populations of landslides in a warming climate. I have also worked on landslide risk, the human consequences of landslides and other hazards, the perception of natural hazards, and the dissemination of information on natural hazards and their consequences. 

You can find more information on Fausto Guzzetti's website, as well as a full list of publications.