Measuring Community Disaster Resilience Using the ARC-D Toolkit: A Case Study of Jimma City, Southwest Ethiopia

Background Addressing the critical challenge of global disaster risk, this study conducted an empirical analysis of Community disaster resilience in Jimma city's local government, to guide targeted improvement. Methods The study employed a quantitative approach using an adapted version of the Analysis of Resilience of Communities to Disasters (ARC-D) toolkits developed by GOAL. Analysis involved Wilcoxon rank sum test with boxplot visualization, spatial hotspot identification, and detailed component-level analysis. Results The study revealed a medium level of CDR (Score: 91.316) with significant internal differences. Spatial analysis identified four kebeles which are specific hotspots of high impact for both flood and fire disasters. Component-level analysis identified Understanding disaster risk as a critical weakness, contrasting with the relative strengths of Priorities 3 and 4. Statistical tests confirmed that the gaps between these Sendai Framework Priorities (SFPs) gaps are significant, highlighting an unequal resilience profile for CDR in the city, where strong structure and investment (Priorities 3 and 4) are undermined by deficits in community risk awareness and governance (Priorities 1 and 2). Conclusion To elevate CDR, Jimma city has to shift from a top-down hazard-specific resilience to a balanced approach that will deliver progress on the critical gaps identified in community risk understanding, inclusive governance, and social foundations. Therefore, we recommend that the city prioritize strengthening social capital and participatory processes alongside infrastructure investment to build sustainable, community-embedded resilience.