Articles | Volume 25, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-1621-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-1621-2025
Research article
 | 
08 May 2025
Research article |  | 08 May 2025

Unravelling the capacity–action gap in flood risk adaptation

Annika Schubert, Anne von Streit, and Matthias Garschagen

Related authors

Assessment of building damage and risk under extreme flood scenarios in Shanghai
Jiachang Tu, Jiahong Wen, Liang Emlyn Yang, Andrea Reimuth, Stephen S. Young, Min Zhang, Luyang Wang, and Matthias Garschagen
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 3247–3260, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-3247-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-3247-2023, 2023
Short summary
Review article: Mapping the adaptation solution space – lessons from Jakarta
Mia Wannewitz and Matthias Garschagen
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3285–3322, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-3285-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-3285-2021, 2021
Short summary

Related subject area

Risk Assessment, Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies, Socioeconomic and Management Aspects
Mapping vulnerability to climate change for spatial planning in the region of Stuttgart
Joanna M. McMillan, Franziska Göttsche, Joern Birkmann, Rainer Kapp, Corinna Schmidt, Britta Weisser, and Ali Jamshed
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1573–1596, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-1573-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-1573-2025, 2025
Short summary
Assessing the impact of early warning and evacuation on human losses during the 2021 Ahr Valley flood in Germany using agent-based modelling
André Felipe Rocha Silva, Julian Cardoso Eleutério, Heiko Apel, and Heidi Kreibich
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1501–1520, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-1501-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-1501-2025, 2025
Short summary
Adaptive behavior of farmers under consecutive droughts results in more vulnerable farmers: a large-scale agent-based modeling analysis in the Bhima basin, India
Maurice W. M. L. Kalthof, Jens de Bruijn, Hans de Moel, Heidi Kreibich, and Jeroen C. J. H. Aerts
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1013–1035, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-1013-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-1013-2025, 2025
Short summary
Content analysis of multi-annual time series of flood-related Twitter (X) data
Nadja Veigel, Heidi Kreibich, Jens A. de Bruijn, Jeroen C. J. H. Aerts, and Andrea Cominola
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 879–891, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-879-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-879-2025, 2025
Short summary
Enhancement of state response capability and famine mitigation: a comparative analysis of two drought events in northern China during the Ming dynasty
Fangyu Tian, Yun Su, Xudong Chen, and Le Tao
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 591–607, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-591-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-591-2025, 2025
Short summary

Cited articles

Adger, W. N.: Social Capital, Collective Action, and Adaptation to Climate Change, Econ. Geogr., 79, 387–404, 2003. a
Adger, W. N. and Barnett, J.: Four reasons for concern about adaptation to climate change, Environ. Plann. A, 41, 2800–2805, 2009. a
Ajzen, I.: The theory of planned behavior, Organ. Behav. Hum. Dec., 50, 179–211, https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T, 1991. a, b, c
Andrijevic, M., Schleussner, C.-F., Crespo Cuaresma, J., Lissner, T., Muttarak, R., Riahi, K., Theokritoff, E., Thomas, A., van Maanen, N., and Byers, E.: Towards scenario representation of adaptive capacity for global climate change assessments, Nat. Clim. Change, 13, 778–787, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01725-1, 2023. a, b
Ara Begum, R., Lempert, R., Ali, E., Benjaminsen, T. A., Bernauer, T., Cramer, W., Cui, X., Mach, K., Nagy, G., Stenseth, N. C., Sukumar, R., and Wester, P.: Point of Departure and Key Concepts, in: Climate Change 2022 – Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, edited by IPCC, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, 121–196, ISBN 9781009325844, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009325844.003, 2022. a
Download
Short summary
Households play a crucial role in climate adaptation efforts. Yet, households require capacities to implement measures. We explore which capacities enable German households to adapt to flooding. Our results indicate that flood-related capacities such as risk perception, responsibility appraisal, and motivation are pivotal, whereas financial assets are secondary. Enhancing these specific capacities, e.g. through collaborations between households and municipalities, could promote local adaptation.
Share
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint