Evaluating community vulnerability of rural areas based on social vulnerability and spatial access to critical facilities in counties of Florida Panhandle area

Keywords: Vulnerability, Rural Community, Natural Disasters, Geographic Information System, Florida Panhandle
Session Type: Virtual Poster Abstract
Day: Sunday
Session Start / End Time: 2/27/2022 02:00 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/27/2022 03:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 38

Abstract

The frequency of disasters is increasing worldwide, and understanding the community level vulnerability is key to minimizing the loss of life and property. Rural communities are more vulnerable than their urban counterparts due to their restricted economies, geographic isolation, poverty, etc. Though rural communities of Northwest Florida were devastated by several hurricanes, this has not received sufficient attention. Consecutive hurricanes in recent years almost obliterated the Florida Panhandle and the rural communities are still struggling to recover from the damage. Thus, this research aims to report on an ongoing project focused on improving and understanding community vulnerability of Gadsden and Jackson counties of Florida in terms of accessibility to critical facilities. For this purpose, the accessibility of each census block group to critical facilities is measured based on 10, 20, and 30-minute travel time thresholds. Then, social vulnerability is estimated by sociodemographic characteristics and access to critical facilities is considered simultaneously. Finally, vulnerable census block groups are filtered with higher than the median rank of social vulnerability and lower than the average accessibility. The result shows 17 out of 71 census block groups in the region are socially vulnerable and 12 are found at Gadsden County. In terms of accessibility, 6 vulnerable census block groups are identified (mean travel time ≥ 15min) and are mostly located in Jackson County. Finally, 10 census blocks are filtered as vulnerable from social and accessibility perspectives. These findings will be helpful for the relevant authorities to develop strategies to reduce vulnerability and build resilience.