Abstract
Abstract Lesotho's landlocked mountainous setting with thin regolith cover and poor economic situation make it vulnerable to hazardous events associated with climate such as drought, floods, strong winds, heavy snowfall, and severe frost. To date, no quantitatively based vulnerability assessment has been undertaken in this heavily populated, developing region in southern Africa. The primary aim of this study was to assess social vulnerability of communities to natural hazards by applying a place-based social vulnerability index developed for the United States, to the Lesotho context. The study used 2006 Lesotho census data, district government records, and household interviews to identify 27 indicators of social vulnerability in southern Lesotho, and then used principal components analysis to generate a social vulnerability index for the study region. Index scores were summed and then mapped to quantify spatial variability in social vulnerability. The study results show a clustering of highly vulnerable c...
Highlights
Considerable attention has been paid to the vulnerability of developing and landlocked countries to climate change and associated natural hazards (UN-OHRLLS 2009; Karki and Gurung 2012)
Community vulnerability within various geographic subregions of southern Lesotho, but for ease of expression, we refer to such collective social vulnerability as that concerning the ‘‘community.’’ Such an assessment is an important initial step toward understanding natural hazard risks, improving response capabilities, and supporting natural disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness, and recovery programs
A positive directionality was allocated to components that likely increase social vulnerability, and a negative directionality was assigned to components that likely decrease vulnerability
Summary
Considerable attention has been paid to the vulnerability of developing and landlocked countries to climate change and associated natural hazards (UN-OHRLLS 2009; Karki and Gurung 2012). Lesotho is a small (30,588 km2), mountainous, and landlocked country and one of the least developed countries in the world; it is prone to natural hazards, its fragile ecosystems are regarded as highly vulnerable to climate change (Matarira 2008; Gwimbi et al 2012; Matarira et al 2013; UNDP 2014). The importance of understanding the social dynamics of vulnerability in mitigating natural hazards has been acknowledged by the Lesotho government (DMA 2010; Gwimbi et al 2012). Community vulnerability within various geographic subregions of southern Lesotho, but for ease of expression, we refer to such collective social vulnerability as that concerning the ‘‘community.’’ Such an assessment is an important initial step toward understanding natural hazard risks, improving response capabilities, and supporting natural disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness, and recovery programs
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
