Floods and sea storms: Analysis of contemporaneity conditions in Calabria, Italy

The anthropization of many territories observed in the last decades has caused an increase in waterproof surfaces, with alterations of the hydrological cycle. The soil waterproofing reduces hydrological losses by increasing surface runoffs, with the same atmospheric event. Also, the climate changes significantly affect the atmospheric events that generate intense rainfall and sea storms and the major consequences are observed in the case of concomitant events. Generally, in the scientific literature floods and sea storms are studied and analyzed separately. Most of the research mainly focuses on the effects generated on the territory rather than on the analysis of the causes that favor the concurrence of these events. Vulnerable territories such as the Italian and Calabrian ones can be affected by these events. The paper analyzes the conditions that favor the contemporaneity between floods and sea storms, focusing mainly on the geo-morphological and climatic aspects of the Calabrian territory, and in particular of the metropolitan city of Reggio Calabria, which, due to its geomorphological and climatic characteristics, it is subject to concurrent events.