Background The risk of flooding of small watercourses is a major problem in several Italian urban areas. Urbanisation, with a consequent decrease of soil permeability and loss of space for river and stream beds, is increasing the likelihood of flooding and the severity of its effects. Furthermore, climate change is likely to make severe rainfall events and flash flooding more common. Despite its dramatic and damaging effects, the risk of flooding of small watercourses in urban areas is often underestimated, and few prevention and mitigation measures have been undertaken. Objectives The RainBO Life project will analyse rainfall phenomena related to climate change and demonstrate its impact in the municipality of Bologna. The main objective of the project is the improvement of knowledge, methods and tools for the understanding and forecast of the potential impact of heavy rains, especially with regard to the hydrological response of small basins and to the vulnerability of assets in the urban area. Additional project objectives include: Developing an information system to provide territorial and census data, risks maps and information on critical infrastructure and buildings; Implementing advanced infrastructure for environmental monitoring; Creating hydro-geological models based on fields of precipitation for the forecasting of flash floods in small basis; Developing a flexible and scalable software platform to integrate data and models; and Demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed methods and tools. The project will contribute to EU policy objectives by supporting the development and implementation of local adaptation strategies and action plans against flood risks. This will be achieved through improved knowledge of the phenomena and the deployment of advanced technologies for environmental monitoring. RainBO life aims to support the implementation of the EU Floods Directive, which requires Member States to assess flooding risk for all watercourses and coast lines, to map the flood extent and assets and humans at risk in these areas and to take adequate and coordinated countermeasures. Expected results: The project expects to achieve the following results: Implementation of an advanced monitoring infrastructure aimed at increasing the ability to diagnose actual weather conditions and to predict their evolution, overcoming limits of sensors currently available and improving meteorological forecasting models; Integration of a software platform of hydrological models to support the evaluation of the hydrological response of small basins and a number of vulnerability models for the main assets in the urban area potentially affected by flooding; Development of a support system that allows the user to apply models, and development of an adequate knowledge base on the potential impact on vulnerable targets; Monitoring of evolving conditions and the generation of watch alerts and warnings, using real-time data acquired by the monitoring infrastructure, the weather forecast and modelling; and Application of prototype monitoring infrastructure and a software platform in the municipality of Bologna.