Earth Observation for Natural Catastrophe Risk: from Data to Decisions

Italy is entering a new phase in the management of natural catastrophe risk, with a growing focus on resilience, prevention and risk transfer. In a country where more than 90% of municipalities are exposed to floods, landslides or other natural hazards, and where annual losses exceed €7 billion, effective risk assessment, insurability and prevention all depend on one essential ingredient: better spatial data.

This panel explores the role of Earth Observation as the data layer underpinning the entire catastrophe-risk lifecycle. Satellite data support the development of hazard maps, improve the understanding of exposure by identifying where assets are located and how vulnerable they are, and increasingly inform pricing, underwriting and risk financing decisions. They also play a critical role after disasters, enabling near-real-time monitoring for emergency response and providing objective evidence that accelerates damage assessment and claims settlement. Connecting these data to decisions - across both the public and private sectors - is what turns observation into action.

The session brings together the perspectives that shape the catastrophe-risk value chain, all anchored in Earth Observation data: how public authorities use it to guide territorial planning and climate adaptation; how research transforms it into models and scientific knowledge; how the insurance and financial sectors rely on it to assess, price and transfer risk; and how the Earth Observation ecosystem - agencies, data providers and innovative companies - translates satellite data into operational services. The discussion will offer a high-level institutional perspective on how these actors can work together within an integrated catastrophe-risk ecosystem, starting from a shared foundation of Earth Observation data.

Programme

Ludovico Giorgio Aldo Biagi, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Politecnico di Milano

Giulia Balugani, Sustainability Manager, Gruppo Unipol

Alberto Dellavalle, Comune di Rimini

European Space Agency - ESA *

Gaetano Volpe, CEO Latitudo 40

* Speaker participation subject to confirmation