The Flood Resilience Index: Benchmarking Infrastructure Vulnerability and Response Strategies Through Case-Based Analysis

This study presents a standardized, multi-dimensional framework to evaluate flood resilience across countries using a novel Flood Index that integrates hazard severity, infrastructure vulnerability, emergency response, and recovery duration. While prior research frequently focuses on single-case studies or emphasizes hazard and vulnerability alone, systematic, multi-case comparisons that incorporate response quality and recovery timelines remain scarce. This study addresses that gap through a comparative assessment of five recent flood events: Germany (2021), Belgium (2021), Sydney (2022), Auckland (2023), and Italy (2023). The Flood Index combines quantitative metrics with AI-scored qualitative insights, drawn from policy documents and event reports, and applies multi-criteria decision-making tools for cross-case ranking. A sensitivity analysis identifies how individual dimensions influence overall resilience outcomes. The analysis reveals that Auckland performed best due to low vulnerability, efficient emergency coordination, and rapid recovery, despite moderate hazard severity. Conversely, Germany and Italy, despite strong institutional capacity, were penalized for high vulnerability and prolonged recovery phases. These results highlight the importance of balancing structural readiness, coordinated response, and recovery planning. This study contributes a replicable, cross-phased, case-study-based methodology that enables policymakers and planners to diagnose system-level weaknesses, benchmark disaster performance, and guide investments toward more adaptive, resilient infrastructure and emergency management strategies.