Conference Agenda

This study presents a quantitative analysis of disaster risk governance in Iztapalapa, one of Mexico City’s most vulnerable municipalities due to its socio-urban dynamics, population density, and exposure to hydrometeorological and geological hazards. The research addresses a key gap in the empirical evaluation of subnational disaster governance by integrating indicators from public administration and urban risk reduction frameworks.

The theoretical foundation builds on the Disaster Risk Governance model (UNDRR, 2019), combined with principles of performance measurement and institutional capacity from the public administration literature (Bouckaert & Halligan, 2008; Andrews et al., 2013). The study operationalizes risk governance through four dimensions: institutional capacity, transparency, inter-agency coordination, and citizen participation.

The methodology involves the construction of a composite index of Local Disaster Risk Governance (LDRG Index), built from 30 indicators collected from public databases (INEGI, CENAPRED, SEDEMA), municipal budgets, policy documents, and a structured survey applied to local officials and community leaders. Statistical analysis includes descriptive statistics, principal component analysis (PCA) to validate dimensionality, to test associations between governance performance and disaster exposure (measured by flood and seismic risk maps).

Findings show significant disparities in governance performance across neighborhoods, with lower-scoring areas correlating strongly with high-risk zones and socio-economic deprivation. The paper aims to contribute methodologically by offering a replicable tool for local DRR performance assessment and provides empirical evidence to inform more equitable and targeted risk reduction strategies in metropolitan contexts.

Background: Coastal communities in South Africa are not to climate induced flood disasters.

Aim: This study aims to explore measures to increase communities’ preparedness, competencies and available trainings to disaster risk management programmes.

Setting: This study was conducted in the Eastern Cape and the KwaZulu-Natal provinces located in South Africa.

Methods: This study opted for a qualitative thematic approach of grounded theory including 12 informants working and specializing from diverse domain of disaster risk management. The Atlas.ti software was used on the data that was transcribed verbatim and coded.

Results: The analysis revealed that the disaster management plans and funding to ensure that at-risk populations are prepared to flood disasters were available but not implemented nor used by the municipal officials. The results revealed that failure to implement the plans can be attributed to the lack of climate change of skills and knowledge among government officials as well as the non-availability of relevant programmes to develop employees and other stakeholders to ensure that they are prepared for flood disasters.

Conclusion: The unused disaster management plans and budget, incapacity amongst different stakeholders, least skilled government officials have adversely contributed to the adverse impacts of climate induced disasters.

Contribution: This study has a potential to influence decision-makers in different sector departments to develop implementable and affordable disaster risk management and preparedness plans to mitigate the adverse impact of flood disasters thus contributing to the body of knowledge.

1.Problem Statement and Purpose

Grassroots emergency decision-making in China is confronted with persistent challenges: inter-departmental data-sharing barriers, scarcity of scientific decision tools, and inefficient cross-sector coordination. Nowhere are these bottlenecks more evident than in Ciqikou Ancient Town, a millennium-old Yangtze River settlement that has experienced flooding in 9 of the past 10 years. Traditional governance models fail to address complexities such as fragmented data systems—where 8 government departments operate isolated platforms—and delayed multi-agency responses. Drawing on the "Risk Sources-Risk Exposures-Mitigation Forces" theoretical framework, this study aims to:

(1) Analyze how digital technologies resolve grassroots response inefficiencies;

(2) Identify scalable digital governance models;

(3) Propose technology-driven optimization pathways to enhance global disaster resilience through a Chinese empirical case.

2.Methodology

Employing an in-depth case study approach, the research combines:

(1) Systematic analysis of Ciqikou’s digital flood governance practices (2020–2024), including flood scenario reconstructions via digital twin technology.

(2) Functional analysis of cross-departmental data sharing within digital emergency systems.

(3) Comparative evaluation of pre-digital (2012–2020) and post-digital (2021–2024) response metrics, including response time and data efficiency.

(4) Survey analysis on stakeholder satisfaction with digital emergency response initiatives.

3.Findings

Digital interventions have yielded significant improvements:

(1) Digital flood control applications enhanced inter-departmental collaboration, enabling successful response to 2024’s peak flood flows.

(2) The study identifies and refines optimization pathways—including intelligent grassroots governance systems, upgraded meteorological warnings, optimized smart plans, and decision support models. These validate digital tools’ role in enhancing emergency response efficacy and provide a Chinese solution for promoting digital empowerment and interdisciplinary integration in emergency management.

4.Proposal

Recommendations include:

(1) Implementing a "Digital Twin + IoT" monitoring network for real-time risk perception.

(2) Establishing an inter-departmental data interaction platform to break information silos.

(3) Developing adaptive AI models integrating meteorological, hydrological, and social data.

These proposals aim to accelerate grassroots emergency management’s digital transformation, providing scalable solutions for flood-prone regions globally.

5. References

1. World Meteorological Organization. (2022) Early Warnings for All. Retrieved from: https://earlywarningsforall.org/site/early-warnings-all

2.Yue Qing-Rui, Lu Xin-Zheng, Xu Zhen , Shi Zhong-Qi , Tian Yuan , Gu Dong-Lian, & Wang Gang. (2025) “The Risk Source-Risk Exposure-Mitigation Force” Theoretical Framework For Urban Safety. Engineering Mechanics,1-9[2025-06-15].Retrieved from:http://kns.cnki.net/kcms/detail/11.2595.o3.20230907.1432.006.html

3. Jung, D., Tran Tuan, V., Quoc Tran, D., Park, M., & Park, S. (2020). Conceptual Framework of an Intelligent Decision Support System for Smart City Disaster Management. Applied Sciences, 10(2), 666. Retrieved from:https://doi.org/10.3390/app10020666

This article offers a critical perspective to enhance current research and practical efforts in building crisis resilience. It emphasizes the power of crisis-affected communities, which have often been overlooked or dismissed as merely “vulnerable” in previous studies and practices. The authors briefly review literature that underscores the significance of community power in building crisis resilience. They then explore two approaches—the asset-based approach and the co-creation approach—that may provide insights into incorporating community power into research and practical efforts to build crisis resilience. The authors discuss anticipated challenges and propose pathways to integrate community power into efforts to build crisis resilience. This article highlights the unintended impact of a vulnerability-focused approach in building crisis resilience. The authors advocate for a perspective centered on community power and explore strategies to support this perspective in both current research and practical applications