Risk Communication in Coastal Cities: The Case of Naples, Italy

Coastal cities are increasingly exposed to the risks posed by climate change, including rising sea levels, intensified storms, and coastal erosion. In this context, risk communication plays a crucial role, as it can shape public perception, promote preparedness, and influence both emergency responses and long-term mitigation strategies. This study investigated how disaster-related risks are framed in the media, focusing on the case of Naples, Italy, following a severe coastal storm surge that struck the city’s waterfront on December 2020. Using Dynamic Latent Dirichlet Allocation (DLDA), the research analyzed 297 newspaper articles published between 2020 and 2024 to examine the evolution of media narratives over time. The findings reveal four dominant patterns: (1) a prevailing economic discourse centered on financial damages and compensations, with limited references to resilience planning; (2) a temporal framing that presents the storm as a sudden, exceptional event, disconnected from historical precedents or future climate projections; (3) a lack of emphasis on the social experiences and vulnerabilities of local residents; and (4) minimal discussion of tourists’ exposure to risk, despite their presence in high-impact areas. These results highlight key limitations of media-driven risk communication and underscore the need for more inclusive, forward-looking narratives to support urban resilience and climate adaptation in coastal cities. This research offers valuable insights for urban planners, policymakers, journalists, and disaster risk reduction professionals, helping them to better align communication strategies with long-term adaptation goals and the needs of diverse urban populations.