Mapping urban-rural divide of disaster vulnerability and implications for community resilience building in China

Abstract

Globally, the climate disasters have swept human society and exerted long lasting impact on sustainability issues. Taking Zhuozhou, north China's Hebei Province as the study area which suffered flood in 2023, the study integrates the exposure-sensitivity-adaptability model with multi-source geospatial and socioeconomic data, and investigates the urban-rural divide in disaster vulnerability and its implications for community resilience building in the context of China's climate crisis. Research results show that: (1) there exist critical disparities between urban and rural communities in terms of disaster vulnerability. (2) urban areas exhibit lower vulnerability due to superior infrastructure, governance, and disaster preparedness, while rural regions face heightened exposure and sensitivity driven by low-lying topography, proximity to rivers, and socioeconomic marginalization. (3) communities with higher government revenue and proximity to relief agencies demonstrate greater adaptive capacity, underscoring the role of fiscal resources and infrastructure accessibility in mitigating flood risks. The study highlights systemic inequalities in disaster resilience, where rural communities—despite similar exposure and sensitivity—suffer disproportionately due to limited financial and institutional conditions. The paper calls for targeted interventions, including equitable infrastructure investment, early-warning systems, and community-led resilience planning, to bridge the urban-rural divide of community vulnerability to disasters and enhance collective adaptive capacity in the face of escalating climate extremes.