Castaldini, Doriano 
  
STUDY OF FLOOD HAZARD IN THE CASTELFRANCO EMILIA AREA 
(MODENA PROVINCE, NORTHERN ITALY) 
Jurjen BERTENS”, Doriano CASTALDINI**, Cecilia GIUSTI**, Mauro MARCHETTTI"", 
Massimo BARBIERI””, Jaime BONACHEA*** 
“Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 2, 3500 Utrecht, The Netherlands, 
rtensi ccaix3.unican.e 
** Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Universita degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Largo S. Eufemia 19, 
41100 Modena, Italy. castaldi@unimo.it, giustic@unimo.it , marchet@unimo.it, m imo.i 
***DCITIMAC, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Cantabria, Avda. de los Castros s/n 39005 Santander, Spain. 
bonaechj@ccaix3.unican.es 
Working Group TC VII-8 
. KEY WORDS: Flood hazard, flow-regulation system, hydrological modelling, Panaro River, Castelfranco Emilia. 
ABSTRACT 
The Castelfranco Emilia area is located in the Po Plain. The Panaro River have periodically caused flooding in the study 
area. The more recent floods took place between 1966 and 1973 (3 events). 
In order to reduce flood hazards, several meander cuts were carried out along the river. As these interventions resulted 
to be ineffective, a flow-regulation system was constructed west of Castelfranco Emilia. It consists of a regulating dam 
built across the riverbed and a storage basin bordered by embankments. This structure is operating since 1985 but was 
finished in 1999: no flooding events have occurred since it is in operation. 
The paper illustrates some aspects of flood hazard induced by the Panaro River, related to the construction of a high 
velocity railway in the study area, a tract of the connection between Milano and Bologna. 
The relationship between precipitation data and the occurrence of a number of flooding events is studied, in order to 
establish whether or not a significant relationship between the two can be identified. Furthermore, a distributed dynamic 
hydrological model is constructed for simulation of the spatial and temporal proceedings of a flood event. 
On the basis of merely precipitation no predictions can be made with respect to the occurrence of a flood event. The 
inclusion of alternative routes for the proposed railway allows for the evaluation and comparison of the spatial effects of 
a flood event. Critical points in the model are calibration and the calculation of soil saturation prior to the event. 
1 INTRODUCTION 
The study area, is a sector located to the east of Modena city in the southern central sector of the Po Plain with a 
population of about 25.000 people over 100 km? approx. (Fig.1). The Panaro River, which is one of the main rivers of 
the Modena Province, flows in the western part of the Castelfranco Emilia area and has periodically caused flooding in 
its territory. 
In this paper, prepared in the framework of the European project GETS (Application of Geomorphology and 
Environmental Impact Assessment to Transportation Systems), the relationship between precipitation data and the 
occurrence of recent flooding events of the Panaro river was studied in order to establish whether or not a significant 
relationship between the two can be identified. 
In the act of allocating a route for the high velocity railway (a tract of the high velocity railway connection between 
Milano and Bologna), the possible effects regarding flooding events will have to be considered. A preliminary attempt 
has been made to identify the crucial mechanisms, and the natural and anthropogenetic factors that can control the 
development of a flood event (this implicates the exclusion of all other factors as crucial in a flooding event); 
furthermore the time-scale on which these mechanism are relevant has been considered. This led to the definition of a 
number of processes which have been included in a dynamic model, with which the spatial proceedings of a flooding 
event can be simulated. Scenarios can be calculated, in order to make predictions regarding the way in which the spatial 
extent of a flood event could be affected by the presence of a hypothetical railway (one of three alternatives). This is 
achieved by using the hypothetical route as a friction factor (its presence will alter micro-relief) with respect to 
propagation, since the crest supporting the new structure will serve as an obstacle in case of a flood. It will protect the 
area located behind it and might increase problems for the area located between the river course and the railway. 
  
228 International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXIII, Part B7. Amsterdam 2000.