Citizen participation in flood risk management: Usability Insights from the RiverCure Portal

Extreme weather events have become increasingly frequent and severe, with rain-induced floods and inundations remaining the deadliest form of natural disaster. Mitigating their impacts requires tools that support all phases of the flood risk management cycle. The RiverCure Portal (RCP) is a web-based platform with geographic information system capabilities, that integrates the definition of geographic contexts with sensor data and hydrodynamic modelling tools, enabling decision-makers and researchers to assess and respond to flood risks. This paper presents and evaluates an extension to the RCP that incorporates citizen science features, enabling the contribution of field-collected data related to extreme weather events, and promoting citizen education and engagement. A focus group provided formative feedback during development, informing iterative improvements. The final version of the RCP was evaluated through a usability study involving 15 participants, achieving a System Usability Scale score of 84.67 out of 100, indicating high perceived usability.