Analysis of hydrogeological and landslide hazards at Castellammare del Golfo (Northern Sicily)

Catastrophic floods or mass movements occur all too often owing to small streams overflowing their banks or to slope instabilities whose evolution has a more or less tragic impact on people and property; these events are the consequence of a poor understanding of the dynamics of geomorphological processes and of the laws governing them. This paper is focused on the case study of Castellammare del Golfo, a town in the province of Trapani. The study analysed the geological risk due to the geomorphology of the area and to the urban sprawl that it has experienced in the past decades. Geomorphological processes have a strategic role to play in spatial planning and management instruments and in their adaptation. Geomorphological dynamics may evolve over timescales comparable with those of human life, interfering with it and affecting the socio-economic development of the communities involved. Geomorphological and hydrological research studies are useful tools of analysis, not only to suggest appropriate rehabilitation works, but also to prevent the recurrence of events whose consequences are not always predictable, but increasingly calamitous.