Disaster Resilience Assessment for Drainage Network and Urban Landscape After Heavy Meteorological Events: Examples from the Middle Adriatic Coastal Area (Abruzzo Region, Central Italy)

Central Italy is sadly acknowledged as highly exposed to natural hazards and affected by ever-present disasters. The middle Adriatic coastal area of the Abruzzo Region has been severely affected by heavy rainfall and flood events in recent times. It is characterized by moderate to low annual precipitation and, occasionally, by serious rainfall events (up to 400–500 mm/day), which determine landscape modifications and geomorphological processes. Floods occurring in the study area revealed the state of vulnerability towards natural hazards posing a threat to human settlements, livelihoods, and properties, despite several mitigation activities carried out in the last decades. In the context of climate change, these events’ frequency has increased and continues to intensify, also in addition to the ever-increasing of anthropic activities. Only a high knowledge of geomorphological dynamics, connected to drainage network evolution, geological-geomorphological features, and meteorological events, can help develop practical mitigation activities and bridge the gap between disaster resilience and urban sustainability, advocated as one of the core elements of new urban agendas. This work could represent a scientific basis, readily available to interested stakeholders, for implementing sustainable territorial planning for disaster resilience assessment and management in urban and coastal landscapes.