Multiple Flood Experiences and Social Resilience: Findings from Three Surveys on Households and Companies Exposed to the 2013 Flood in Germany

Abstract

Previous studies have explored the consequences of flood events for exposed households and companies by focusing on single flood events. Less is known about the consequences of experiencing repeated flood events for the resilience of households and companies. In this paper, we therefore explore how multiple floods experience affects the resilience of exposed households and companies. Resilience was made operational through individual appraisals of households and companies’ ability to withstand and recover from material as well as health and psychological impacts of the 2013 flood in Germany. The paper is based on three different datasets including more than 2000 households and 300 companies that were affected by the 2013 flood. The surveys revealed that the resilience of households seems to increase, but only with regard to their subjectively appraised ability to withstand impacts on mobile goods and equipment (e.g., cars, TV, and radios). In regard to the ability of households to withstand overall financial consequences of repetitive floods, evidence for nonlinear (quadratic) trends can be found. With regard to psychological and health-related consequences, the findings are mixed but provide tentative evidence for eroding resilience among households. Companies’ resilience increased with respect to material assets but appears to decrease with respect to ability to recover. We conclude by arguing that clear and operational definitions of resilience are required so that evidence-based resilience baselines can be established to assess whether resilience is eroding or improving over time.

A comparison of flood-protective decision-making between German households and businesses

“…Similar findings have been found regarding households (Zaalberg et al 2009;Bubeck et al 2013;Lo et al 2015;Moffitt et al 2015;Petrolia et al 2015;Geaves and Penning-Rowsell 2016). However, at least for German businesses, they were less prepared than households for floods between 2002 and 2013 (Kreibich et al 2011;Kuhlicke et al 2019).…”

Flood Risk Analysis and Assessment, Applications and Uncertainties: A Bibliometric Review

“…As a check and validation of future FRA trends and the fields and topics that seem to have the greatest future projection, the publications of the authors mentioned in Section 2.3 have been analyzed for the last two years (2019 and 2020). The result is illuminating, because the 28 records in the WoS databases published by these seven authors in this last half year (January-June 2020) on FRA, correspond to: psycho-social aspects (six records; e.g., [37,38]), the impact of global change (five records; e.g., [39]), coastal floods (five records; e.g., [40]) and global scale studies (four records; e.g., [41]); or combination of two or more (e.g., [42]). Analyzing the 112 records on FRA of these 7 authors in the years 2019 and 2020, all the emerging topics are also represented, since all but one of the records (111) include references to the global change.…”

The behavioral turn in flood risk management, its assumptions and potential implications

“…However, there is also a need for caution. While financial damage may be reduced, some individuals at risk of flooding continue to experience repeated and costly effects (both financially and psychologically) (Bubeck & Thieken, 2018;Kuhlicke et al, 2020). Furthermore, many households may simply not have the financial and/or personal capacities to implement household-level measures and to recover after a flood or they might be less motivated after they realized that individual adaptive behavior is not as effective as it was supposed to be.…”