INTERDEPENDENCIES BETWEEN PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL VULNERABILITY IN A STORM RISK ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK APPLIED TO HAMPTON ROADS, VIRGINIA

Anmol Haque,Jennifer L Irish,Yang Zhang

doi:10.9753/icce.v36v.management.20

Abstract

Risk assessment frameworks such as HAZUS-MH (FEMA, 2010) have been used globally to estimate potential losses like physical damage to structural establishments, economic loss, shelter requirements, displaced households, etc. due to multi-hazards like earthquake, flood and hurricane hazards. However, HAZUS-MH fails to consider interdependencies between physical and social capacities of affected communities. The present study aims to develop a conceptual risk assessment framework for storm hazards in coastal communities that addresses these limitations through an integrated physical and social vulnerability assessment applied to Hampton Roads, Virginia. By including interdependencies, interactions between the physical and social vulnerability will be studied. We hypothesize that changes in housing occupancy status affect the physical damage and changes in population density affect the social vulnerability. Therefore, the integrated physical and social vulnerability will change in response to a current event and therefore make the same region more or less impacted in a subsequent future event.Recorded Presentation from the vICCE (YouTube Link): https://youtu.be/JzCsvurKrxU

Highlights

The physical damage termed as physical vulnerability is expressed as an expected damage percentage due to storm surge flooding and wind using a weighted average method
Interdependencies between the combined social vulnerability and damage patterns from one event, subsequent recovery, and the impacts on vulnerability in future events based on existing literature are determined; housing occupancy and population density information is used to support this analysis
PRELIMINARY RESULTS The method described above was applied to the Hampton Roads city of Norfolk to demonstrate the proposed conceptual framework (Fig 1)

Summary

Introduction

METHODOLOGY The maps of social vulnerability, physical damage, combined physical damage and social vulnerability map and housing occupancy are constructed. The physical damage termed as physical vulnerability is expressed as an expected damage percentage due to storm surge flooding and wind using a weighted average method. Social vulnerability is represented as the deviation from the mean Social Vulnerability Index (SOVI) (Cutter et al, 2003).

Results

Conclusion