Vulnerability and Catastrophe

1
Vulnerability and Catastrophe

• Understanding and Addressing Liabilities and
  Capacities

2
Introduction

• Recent events
• 9/11
• Indian Ocean Tsunami
• Hurricane Katrina

3
Thinking Differently

• Vulnerability is a greater determinant of
  disaster than hazards themselves (Alexander
  2006, 2).

4
Questions to Address

• What is vulnerability?
• What are the causes of vulnerability?
• Who can be or is vulnerable?
• How can vulnerability be reduced?

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What is Vulnerability?

• Divergence of opinion
• Vulnerability is the likelihood that an
  individual or group will be exposed to and
  adversely affected by a hazard (Cutter 1996,
  532).
• Vulnerability is the potential for loss
  (Mitchell as cited by Cutter 1996, 532).
• Vulnerability is a state of defenselessness
  which renders a community powerless to withstand
  the debilitating effects of events commonly
  perceived as disaster or natural hazard (Mustafa
  1989, 290).
• The degree to which a system or part of a system
  may react adversely to the occurrence of a
  hazardous event (Timmerman 1981, 21).

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What is Vulnerability? (cont.)

• Areas of convergence (liabilities)
• A measure, for a given population or region, of
  the underlying factors that influence exposure to
  the hazardous event and predisposition to the
  adverse consequences (Downing as cited by Green
  2004, 323).
• It involves a combination of factors that
  determine the degree to which someones life or
  livelihood is put at risk by a discrete and
  identifiable event in nature or society (Wisner
  et. al. 2004, 11).
• The likelihood that a person will be negatively
  affected by environmental hazards (Bolin and
  Stanford 1998, 9).

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What is Vulnerability? (cont.)

• Areas of convergence (capabilities)
• A function of a systems ability to cope with
  stress and shock (Nicholls and Dlein as cited by
  Green 2004, 323).
• The characteristics of a person or group in
  terms of their capacity to anticipate, cope with,
  resist, and recover from the impact of natural
  hazards (Wisner et. al. 2004, 11).
• Refers to the resources and coping abilities of
  specific community to a specific hazard (Lindsay
  as cited by NOAA 2006).

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What is Vulnerability? (cont.)

• Accepting both features (liabilities and
  capabilities)
• Vulnerability . . . Refers to exposure to
  contingencies and stress, and difficulty in
  coping with them. Vulnerability thus has two
  sides an external side of risks, shocks and
  stress to which an individual or household is
  subject, and an internal side which is
  defenselessness, meaning a lack of means to cope
  without damaging loss (Chambers 1989, 1).
• Vulnerability is a product of physical exposure
  to natural hazard, and human capacity to prepare
  for or mitigate and to recover from (cope with)
  any negative impacts of disaster (Pellinga and
  Uitto 2001, 50).

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What Causes Vulnerability?

• Physical causes
• Location
• Construction
• Technology
• Social causes
• Culture
• Politics
• Demographic patterns
• Economics

10
What Causes Vulnerability? (cont.)

• Additional causes
• Dropout rate
• Breakup of families
• Loss of farming skills
• Obesity
• Etc.

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Who Is or Can be Vulnerable?

• Individuals
• Groups
• Organizations
• Communities
• Nations
• Complex relationships

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How Can Vulnerability be Reduced?

• Address liabilities
• Risk
• Susceptibility
• Address capabilities
• Resistance
• Resilience

13
How Can Vulnerability be Reduced? (cont.)

• Address risk
• Understand what can happen
• Protect the environment
• Locate people and property in safer areas
• Warn and evacuate people

14
How Can Vulnerability be Reduced? (cont.)

• Address susceptibilities
• Overcome apathy
• Reduce poverty
• Improve health
• Anticipate and react effectively to demographic
  changes

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How Can Vulnerability be Reduced? (cont.)

• Address resistance
• Construct homes and structures with latest
  engineering techniques
• Build infrastructure with disasters in mind
• Improve building codes and enforce them
• Apply technology carefully

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How Can Vulnerability be Reduced? (cont.)

• Address Resilience
• Prepare and plan
• Give more resources to emergency management
• Network
• Rely on insurance

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How Can Vulnerability be Reduced? (cont.)

• A holistic approach
• Assess liabilities and capabilities
• Reduce risk and susceptibilities
• Build resistance and resilience

18
Thank You!

• David A. McEntire
• Associate Professor
• Emergency Administration and Planning
• Department of Public Administration
• University of North Texas
• mcentire_at_unt.edu
• [phone]