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Unlock This CourseNot everyone is affected equally when natural hazards strike. Some people suffer much more than others, even when they experience the same earthquake, flood or hurricane. This difference is called social vulnerability - it's about how certain groups of people are more at risk of being harmed by natural disasters.
Think about it this way: if a flood hits a town, a wealthy family with a strong house, insurance and savings will cope much better than a poor family living in a weak building with no insurance. The flood is the same, but the impact is very different.
Key Definitions:
Understanding social vulnerability helps us predict who will be most affected by disasters and plan better responses. It explains why some communities bounce back quickly whilst others struggle for years to recover from the same hazard.
Several key factors determine how vulnerable people are to natural hazards. These factors often overlap and combine to create even greater vulnerability for some groups.
Age plays a huge role in determining how well people can cope with disasters. Both very young and very old people face extra challenges when hazards strike.
Cannot evacuate themselves, depend on adults for safety, more likely to suffer from malnutrition and disease after disasters, may miss school for long periods affecting their education.
Generally least vulnerable group, have physical strength to evacuate, earn money to prepare and recover, can make decisions about safety and protection.
May have mobility problems, often live alone with less support, may have chronic health conditions, might be reluctant to leave familiar places during evacuations.
During Hurricane Katrina in 2005, people over 60 made up only 15% of New Orleans' population but accounted for 71% of the deaths. Many elderly residents couldn't evacuate in time or refused to leave their homes, making them extremely vulnerable to the flooding.
Money matters enormously when it comes to surviving natural disasters. Wealth provides protection, whilst poverty increases vulnerability in multiple ways.
People with higher incomes can afford better protection before disasters strike and recover more quickly afterwards. Poor people often live in the most dangerous areas and struggle to bounce back.
Can afford stronger houses in safer locations, have insurance to cover losses, can evacuate quickly with private transport, have savings to rebuild and recover, access to better healthcare and education.
Often live in hazard-prone areas like floodplains, houses may be poorly built and unsafe, no insurance to cover losses, depend on public transport for evacuation, no savings for recovery, limited access to services.
In many societies, women and girls face greater vulnerability to natural hazards due to social inequalities and different roles within families and communities.
Cultural and social factors often put women at greater risk during disasters, though this varies significantly between different countries and communities.
In the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, women made up 70% of the deaths in some affected areas. Many women couldn't swim (unlike men who learned for fishing), wore heavy clothing that made swimming difficult and stayed behind to look after children and elderly relatives instead of fleeing to safety.
Education plays a crucial role in reducing vulnerability to hazards. People with better education are often better prepared and make safer decisions during disasters.
Higher education levels help people understand hazard warnings, know how to prepare for disasters, make better evacuation decisions, access information and resources and recover more quickly through better job opportunities.
People with disabilities or chronic health conditions face additional challenges during natural disasters that can significantly increase their vulnerability.
Disabled people may need extra support during disasters but are often overlooked in emergency planning.
Where people live and the quality of their housing significantly affects their vulnerability to natural hazards.
Some areas are naturally more dangerous and unfortunately, these are often where the poorest people are forced to live.
Risk of tsunamis, storm surges, coastal flooding and erosion. Often expensive areas, but poor communities may live in vulnerable coastal slums.
Risk of landslides and rockfalls. Poor communities often build informal settlements on unstable hillsides around cities.
Risk of river flooding. Often cheap land that attracts poor communities, but highly vulnerable during flood events.
The 2010 Haiti earthquake killed over 200,000 people, largely due to poor building standards. Most buildings weren't designed to withstand earthquakes and many poor families lived in overcrowded, unsafe structures. The wealthy areas with better-built houses suffered much less damage and fewer casualties.
Understanding social vulnerability is the first step towards reducing it. Communities, governments and organisations can take action to help protect the most vulnerable people.
There are many ways to help make communities more resilient and reduce social vulnerability to hazards.
The strongest communities are those where people work together to prepare for hazards. This includes training community volunteers, creating evacuation plans that consider vulnerable groups and building social networks that ensure no one is left behind during disasters.
Social vulnerability to hazards is about much more than just the natural event itself. Age, income, gender, education, health and housing all combine to determine how badly people are affected by disasters. By understanding these factors, we can work to protect the most vulnerable members of our communities and build more resilient societies that can better cope with natural hazards.
Remember: the same hazard can have completely different impacts depending on who it affects. Reducing social vulnerability is key to reducing disaster risk and saving lives.