Extreme weather events and small municipalities’ resilience in Wielkopolska Province (Poland)

Abstract

The increasing number of extreme weather events (EWEs) poses a challenge for communities and agencies responsible for risk management. While large cities receive attention due to their significant exposure, there is less research concerning resilience on the local level, where losses can be smaller compared with large cities but severe for small communities.This study explores how resilience built by eight small Polish municipalities endangered by extreme weather events enables them to cope with a significant extreme event – the 2017 storm. The qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) method was applied, and factor conditions impacting the municipalities’ resilience were identified. The analysis revealed that lack of the municipality’s administrative centrality appeared to be a sufficient factor for high local resilience, as well as a combination of factors: the presence of institutional memory, the municipality’s precautionary approach, non-resistance arrangement type, and the developed social coping capacity. The implications of the study are discussed.