The social vulnerability

Social Vulnerability

Social vulnerability is a type of vulnerability to shocks and stresses such as social exclusion, environmental hazards, and abuse. The concept of social vulnerability has also been defined as societies’ and organizations’ failure to overcome or successfully tolerate the consequences of several stressors that they are exposed to on a regular basis. The characteristics of their social relations networks, cultural beliefs, and institutions amplify and often broaden the effects of these shocks and pressures. It is important to emphasize that the concept of social vulnerability is inextricably tied to risk and emergency management. However, over the years, it is gradual becoming a multi-disciplines issue for consideration, (Cutter, et al. 2003).

Demographics of Social Vulnerability

The demographics of social vulnerability can be referred to as the group of people that are adversely affected by the advents of disasters in a particular community. This group of individuals is described as very vulnerable during the emergence of environmental disaster. These groups of people within these socially vulnerable demographics are referred to as the persons with the least chance of recovery and the most likely to die during the event of disasters, (Lindell, et al. 2006). Based on the specialties of needs of the social vulnerability demographics they require the attention of emergency managers during the mitigation, response, and recovery phases of emergency management.

Importance of Social Vulnerability Statistics

There is a need to point out that since the socially vulnerable demographics have been described as the group of people that are most vulnerable to disaster with the population and are most likely to be adversely affected or may even die from such a disaster. The availability of information about social vulnerability demographics is of enormous benefits to disaster and emergency managers in many ways. First, they become vividly aware of the fact that when an emergency or disaster occurs, a group of people suffers more than others and also provide emergency managers with vivid statistical details about this group of individuals. With the availability of social vulnerability statistics, emergency managers and response teams could have up-to-date ideas as to the number and location of these people. Second, with the concept of socially vulnerable, emergency managers can locate this group of individuals within the population efficiently. The availability of the information also helps emergency managers and response teams to effectively plan and lay out strategies to ensure the socially vulnerable people are given rescue priorities during evacuation from emergency scenes. They are also given due consideration during the provision of relief material in the event of disasters.

Adopting Social Vulnerability Information

The information offered by social vulnerability must be considered as true and valid hence emergency managers must adopt such information during the mitigation, response, and recovery phases of emergency management. Failure to adopt and use this information will complicate emergency recovery plans. First, it must be noted that the primary purpose of an emergency recovery plan is to ensure that the effects of such a disaster are minimized on victims. Socially vulnerable details do not only provide us the details of all the victims; it provides the general details and specific details of the most affected victim. Hence there is a need to point out that a failure to adopt the information provided by social vulnerability demographics will hamper the process of locating and providing relief for the most affected members of the society during a disaster.

References

Cutter, S. L., Boruff, B. J., & Shirley, W. L. (2003). Social vulnerability to environmental

hazards. Social science quarterly, 84(2), 242-261.

Lindell, M. K., Perry, R. W., Prater, C., & Nicholson, W. C. (2006). Fundamentals of emergency

management. Washington, DC: FEMA.