Territory and perception of seismic risk: the case of Pollino, Calabria, Southern Italy and the comparison with the great earthquakes of the past

This work is a synthesis of research on the perception of seismic risk in the area of Pollino, affected in the past two years by an ongoing earthquake swarm involving the area between Calabria and Basilicata. In this context of risk, improved communication, awareness of the complexity of risk and appropriate preparation would increase the resilience of the territory and allow a more effective management and planning. Therefore, a questionnaire was administered to the students of primary and secondary education in some cities and villages affected by the earthquake of Pollino, in order to bring out the knowledge actually possessed and tied to age, experience, areas of origin and perception about the earthquake. In relating to the theme of disasters, an increasing percentage of students considered the human component even as the cause of earthquakes. The collected data will be useful to design and build new information tools, more adapted to the needs of all citizens, with regard to natural hazards such as earthquake, boosting the resilience of the territory. The comparison with the perception of the great earthquakes of the past helps us to clarify the relationship between an extreme event, which is part of the dynamics of nature, and a disaster, which occurs when human societies are not able to "absorb" an extreme event and they therefore collapse.