Infographic on meteo-hydro alert

This infographic was prepared within the framework of the discussion between the Department of Civil Protection and the Regions and Autonomous Provinces concerning the nationwide homogenization of operational tools and standards related to warning, planning, and emergency management activities.

More specifically, this work comes from the need to briefly represent the table in Annex 1 of the "Operational indications for the homogenization of alert messages and related Operational Phases for meteo-hydro risk," dated February 10, 2016. The table of meteo-hydrogeological and hydraulic alerts and criticalities foresees for each level of alert (yellow, orange, and red) event scenarios with corresponding effects and damages.

The infographic's first unit shows the alert's function: it is a warning of possible risk situations caused by meteo-hydro phenomena. The bell symbol was chosen for this purpose, whereas the waves of the signal show the increased intensity of the phenomena in case of increasingly severe alerts.

In the second unit, the effects and damages shown in the table have been paired with the corresponding alert for simplifying. For greater effectiveness, the different types of risks (hydraulic, hydrogeological, and thunderstorm) have not been differentiated, focusing on the consequences directly perceived by citizens in the area. The chosen graphic element is meant to show the increasing gravity of the effects and damages that may occur, as the specific effects and damages of orange and red alerts also include that characteristic of a yellow alert.