Reconstruction, recovery and socio-economic development of the Basilicata region, southern Italy: lessons and experience after the 1980 earthquake

In the present paper, a critical analysis of the 1980 Irpinia-Basilicata (southern Italy) post-earthquake phase has been carried out, with particular attention to the Basilicata region. Post-earthquake policies were mainly addressed towards the physical reconstruction and socio-economic development of the affected areas. As for the development process, the expected results from the industrialisation and infrastructure works have been rather poor or indeed not achieved, mainly as a consequence of red tape, inefficiency and sometimes corruption events. On the other hand, impressive steps ahead have been made in terms of knowledge advancement concerning the assessment and reduction of seismic risk, with the creation of important education and research institutions in Basilicata. Furthermore, the relationship between earthquake disaster and territorial development has been examined, starting from some prominent studies proposed in the literature. The evolution of vulnerability levels to earthquakes of some countries around the world have been evaluated. Specifically, considering a time span of about 40 years (1980-2020), the data related to the number of deaths caused by earthquakes with respect to the population exposed has been analysed and some comparisons have been carried out. Although limited, since referring to a single risk indicator, the results confirm the close link between seismic consequences and socio-economic characteristics of the affected communities, as a poignant lesson for planning effective risk mitigation strategies.