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As the third hurricane the U.S. experienced in 2017, Hurricane María generated impacts that resulted in both short term and long term suffering in Puerto Rico. In this study, we aim to quantify the vulnerability of Puerto Ricans by taking region and society specific characteristics of the island into account. To do this, we follow Cutter et al.’s social vulnerability calculation, which is an inductive approach that aims to represent a society based on its characteristics. We adapted the Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI) for Puerto Rico by using data obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau. We analyzed the newly calculated SoVI for Puerto Rico and compared it with the existing deductive approach developed by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Our findings show that the new index is able to capture some characteristics that the existing vulnerability index is unable to do.
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Critical Lines of Action for Vulnerability and Resilience Research and Practice: Lessons from the 2017 Hurricane Season
The unprecedented number of devastating disasters recently experienced in the United States is a clarion call to revisit how we understand our vulnerability in the face of global change, and what we are prepared to do about it. We focus on the case of Hurricane María’s impact in Puerto Rico to underscore five critical concerns in addressing vulnerability and adaptation planning: (i) vulnerability as a product of flows; (ii) how our beliefs about the capacities of ourselves and others affect local vulnerability; (iii) the role uncertainty, politics, and information access play in amplifying vulnerability and complicating adaptation; (iv) the need for a better distribution of risk and responsibility in adaptation; (v) and the challenge of seizing the opportunity of disasters for transformative change. These five issues of concern were particularly evident in the case of Puerto Rico where Hurricane María’s 155 mph winds exposed existing infrastructural vulnerabilities, institutional incapacities, and socio-economic disparities. We argue that addressing these issues requires fundamental shifts in how we prepare for environmental change and disasters in the 21st century. We discuss promising approaches that may assist researchers and practitioners in addressing some of the underlying drivers of vulnerability, stemming from cross-scalar dynamics, systemic interdependencies, and the politics and social relations associated with knowledge, decision-making and action. We argue that society needs to broach the difficult topic of the equity in the distribution of risk in society and the burden of adaptation. Addressing these challenges and response imperatives is a central task of this century; the time to act is now.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1737626
- PAR ID:
- 10110659
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Extreme Events
- Volume:
- 05
- Issue:
- 02n03
- ISSN:
- 2345-7376
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1850015
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1142/S234573761850015X
