Approaches to modeling physical risk and social vulnerability: a literature review

Keywords: social vulnerability, physical risk, hazards, natural disasters, earthquakes, integrated risk
Abstract Type: Poster Abstract

Abstract

Earthquakes, like many other natural hazards, are expected to produce greater losses due to the increased inhabitation in seismic zones. Particularly for areas prone to seismic activity, the future only holds a greater need for understanding the mechanisms that underlie potential societal impacts due to earthquakes. While the complexity and uncertainty of natural hazards and social systems offer much to investigate, the nexus of the two offers another layer of difficulty. This difficulty is likely the reason for them traditionally being investigated independently, leaving much to be discovered for the relationship between the two. Various attempts have been made to visualize this relationship. For example, one method used in the literature is by calculating an exposure (risk) matrix from social vulnerability and seismic hazard classes, and then mapping these exposure categories, provides a simple and easy approach to interpreting this relationship. Hazard and community-specific context are often overlooked in modeling integrated social vulnerability, therefore, this area of study offers many gaps to explore. This poster will illustrate a detailed landscape of the current literature on integrating physical (earthquake) risk with social vulnerability and outline the gaps in our understanding. Current methods will be critiqued, and favorable approaches will be highlighted, concluding with suggestions on future directions.