Dr.Fernando Nardi
UNESCO Chair “Water Resources Management and Culture”
University for Foreigners of Perugia
Italy

Biography
Fernando Nardi, hydraulic engineer with a PhD in hydrology from Sapienza University of Rome, is assistant professor at the University for Foreigners of Perugia (Italy) since 2012 in affiliation with the Unesco Chair in “Water Resources Management and Culture”. His professional and scientific interests pertain to programming and application of advanced Geographic Information System (GIS) and hydro-modelling software for territorial/urban and natural hazard management with specific regard to large scale water resource and flood risk assessment and mapping projects.

Abstract
Natural hazard and territorial planning: Using digital topographic data to capture the flood footprint

Earth landforms are the result of ages of natural and human forcing phenomena that interplayed to give shape to the actual surface morphology. Digital Terrain and Surface Models (DTM, DSM) contain a wealth of information on both physical and artificial processes and features across multiple spatial and temporal scales. This is particularly important for water-driven extreme events, floods, and their footprint that is the result of the erosion and deposition processes and their interaction with man-made structures: bridges, culverts, levees, land use transformations in general. Geographic Information System (GIS) and terrain analysis data and tools provide scientists and professionals the ability to process and query DTMs to extract information regarding the interlinked flood-human impact on the territory, the flood footprint, becoming a fundamental asset for water risk management and prevention supporting safe and sustainable territorial planning and urban development projects in both developed and developing countries.