ABSTRACT
Floods are some of the main threats for the existing built heritage and Cultural Heritage, occurring with an increasing frequency, due also to the climate change, and involving countries and territories all over the world characterized by different features (climate, morphology, level of urbanization), as this paper shows. The common point between the different study cases is the presence of a source of flooding (such as a river) or a big amount of rainfall (the monsoon season, for example), a route for the flood water to take, and a particular contest (urban contests, in this case) that is affected by the flood. In front of these wide risks, local governments adopt some punctual and general strategies aimed at environmental, social and economic resilience to face the floods and to reduce the future risk. The aim of this paper is to compare the different approaches in different countries and continents (India, Morocco, Brazil and Italy), to show how it is possible, starting from the knowledge of the features of each particular site - to draw and define a list of good practices related to policy models to support emergency and risk management. Since flood risk is now something that can be estimated, thanks to the study of past experiences and with the help of modern technologies (data collection, documentation and monitoring activities), and its effects are generally predictable, actions should be based on a holistic approach, and focused on the development of a flood mitigation policy reduction, with some specific measures for the protection of the cultural heritage (old cities, monuments and archaeological sites). These policy models to support emergency and risk management can also be seen as an opportunity to enhance a sense of community and belonging, through environmental awareness initiatives at the regional and national scale and a new and deeper interest in local cultural heritage.
