OECD Reviews of Risk Management Policies: Italy 2010
Review of the Italian National Civil Protection System
Recent years have seen a steep increase in the frequency and economic impacts of disasters, and Italy has been no exception. In addition to increased seasonal variance linked to climate change, the devastating earthquakes around L’Aquilla in 2009 make Italy a case study for policy-makers, emergency management practitioners, academics and international organisations who are searching for solutions, notably in the areas of disaster damage reduction policies. The Italian civil protection system offers a rich source of best practices for their consideration. The National Department of Civil Protection in particular, as the hub of the National Civil Protection Service, provides a model of professionalism and leadership. The review report also identifies many challenges facing the Italian civil protection system and areas where improvements are still needed.
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Annex A
Principal legislation and operational components
Two fundamental pieces of legislation were put into place in the first decades of the 20th century. In 1919 the Public Works Authority was through a law (R.D.L. 2.9.1919 n. 1915) given the responsibility for direction and co-ordination of the rescue services in the event of earthquakes. All civil, military and local authorities depended on the Public Works Authority. This law framed for the first time rescue service in case of natural disasters, but the scope of application was limited to geological events only. In 1926 a law created a permanent structure for rescue services and extended its mandate beyond earthquakes (R.D.L. 9.12.1926 n. 2389). The focus was largely geological disasters and the task assigned was that of rescuing populations affected by emergencies following disasters.
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