Assessment and influencing factors of urban residents' flood emergency preparedness capacity: An example from Jiaozuo City, China

Abstract

Public flood emergency preparedness capacity (EPC) is a key factor to reduce casualties and property losses in flood disasters. In this study, a flood EPC index of urban residents was constructed using four indicators (emergency knowledge, skills, awareness, and supplies) and used to assess the flood EPC of urban residents in Jiaozuo City, Henan province, China. Ten key factors influencing residents’ flood EPC were identified based on literature review and with the help of experts, and the impacts of influencing factors on EPC were analyzed using variance analysis (ANOVA) and post hoc multiple comparisons. The results showed that the flood EPC of urban residents in Jiaozuo City was at a medium level, and the numbers of respondents with low, medium and high levels were 21.03 %, 62.62 % and 16.35 %, respectively. The impact analysis of influencing factors to urban residents' flood EPC showed that (1) most influencing factors had significant impacts on residents' flood EPC except for gender and occupation. (2) The respondents with higher education, higher incomes, more family members, mobility-impaired family members, and more flooding experiences had higher flood EPC than others. (3) The age group between 26 and 50 had higher flood EPC than other age groups. (4) The respondents living on bungalow and near a river had higher flood EPC than others. The findings of this study can provide useful information for the local government to develop urban flood management policies and for urban residents to improve their flood EPC.