Connecting Perceived Flood Risk and Resilience in Auckland, New Zealand

Abstract

New Zealand cities are shaped by a history of natural hazards. Climate change has amplified these risks, increasing frequency, intensity, and destructiveness, demonstrated by the nationwide impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods. Utilising anonymous cross-sectional survey and network analysis, this study responds to an existing knowledge gap to investigate the interrelationships between the perceived flood risk and perceived urban flood resilience using selected residential suburbs in Auckland, New Zealand, to support better alignment between urban residents’ needs and expectations for policymaking and implementation. Our study provides novel insights through identification of a Flood Resilience Perception cluster characterised by statistical associations between perceived flood risk and perceived urban neighbourhood flood resilience, namely, perception of safety from flooding, trust in local authorities, rainfall worry, distance from flooding source, perceived sufficiency in emergency response, and provision or receipt of assistance during flooding. These interrelationships indicate cognitive, behavioural and informational, sociocultural, and geographic and physical mediators collectively shape the perception of flood risk and resilience at the neighbourhood scale, supported by integrated quantitative and qualitative analyses. Our findings highlight opportunities for greater dialogue between residents and decision-makers through participatory flood risk governance, noting the gap between residents’ low awareness of existing digital flood risk communication tools and efforts to seek flood-related information, that can be addressed through improved engagement with existing public-facing flood risk provisions. The analysis pipeline is freely available and designed for use in territorial jurisdictions in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally to gauge community flood resilience.