Do the type of impact and vulnerability dimension matter when assessing natural hazard vulnerability?

Abstract

Communities across the United States are continually impacted by natural hazards, leading to material and human losses. Natural Hazard Vulnerability (NHV) assessments can help identify variables that can increase the community's susceptibility to these losses. Several studies have assessed NHV, but few have accounted for specific losses or considered more than one dimension of vulnerability (typically, social vulnerability is assessed). This study assessed NHV at the county level in the United States, considering five dimensions (social, environmental, institutional, economic, and health) during two years (2000 and 2010) and accounting for damages and casualties. Results provide valuable and generalized insights on how NVH manifests in society. It confirms that NHV should be assessed by particular impact and that it is dynamic: sets of variables associated with heightened losses can change over time and when evaluating distinct impacts (damages and casualties). This study emphasizes the importance of tailoring NHV assessments to specific impacts and underscores the dynamic nature of these assessments, providing valuable insights for both researchers and decision-makers enabling the development of more effective risk-reduction strategies.