Towards measuring resilience of flood-prone communities: a conceptual framework

Community resilience has become an important policy and research concept for understanding and addressing the challenges associated with the interplay of climate change, urbanization, population growth, land use, sustainability, vulnerability and increased frequency of extreme flooding. Although measuring resilience has been identified as a fundamental step toward its understanding and effective management, there is, however, lack of an operational measurement framework due to the difficulty of systematically integrating socioeconomic and techno-ecological factors. The study examines the challenges, constraints and construct ramifications that have complicated the development of an operational framework for measuring resilience of flood-prone communities. Among others, the study highlights the issues of proliferation of definitions and conceptual frameworks of resilience, challenges of data availability, data variability and data compatibility. Adopting the National Academies’ definition of resilience, a conceptual and mathematical model was developed using the dimensions, quantities and relationships established by the definition. A fuzzy logic equivalent of the model was implemented to generate resilience indices for three flood-prone communities in the United States. The results indicate that the proposed framework offers a viable approach for measuring community flood resilience, even when there is a limitation on data availability and compatibility

Environmental Hazards 4 (2002) 15-22 Flash flood mitigation: recommendations for research and applications

Abstract New technologies promise reduced flash flood losses. However, real-time observations with vast multi-sensor networks, more precise mapping capabilities using remote sensing and GIS, quicker hydrological and meteorological models, and increasing forecast lead times have not reduced losses. In November, 1999, 35 researchers from nine countries met in Ravello, Italy at a NATO sponsored Advanced Study Institute, to discuss these issues and to develop a research agenda that incorporates the various components required to cope with flash floods. The key recommendations from the Institute were: (1) greater emphasis on increasing understanding of the social processes involved in flash flood warning, particularly in the response phases, and (2) the need to reduce vulnerability in sustainable ways compatible with long-term economic and social goals. The relationship between hydrometeorology and social science is seen as critical to advancing our abilities to cope with flash floods.

Natural Hazards: An Evolving Tradition in Applied Geography

Geographic research on natural hazards has a long history, starting with a focus on physical processes and moving forward with an increased recognition of the interactions between the physical and human environments. This special issue on natural hazards presents papers that illustrate a variety of areas of applied hazards research, from the physical to the socio-economic, as well as the array of approaches and techniques utilized, from the quantitative to the qualitative