How can the urban emergency capability gap be measured? Construction of a standardized indicator system in China

Urbanization has exacerbated the adverse effects of emergencies in China. Making up for the gap of emergency capability is the key to improving the level of urban emergency response. The emergency capability assessments in China determine the overall level of capability and identify capability gaps. However, it does not quantify capability gaps. In this study, we provide a new standardized indicator system for assessing emergency capability integrating with the characteristics of Chinese emergency management. The standardized indicator system contains 21 standardized impact indicators and 27 standardized target indicators. The aim is to explore quantitative research on the capability gap. Finally, a case study is conducted to verify the applicability of the standardized indicator system.