Abstract
 Planning for Disaster by Pinpointing Populations Vulnerable to Hazards Track: Disaster Management and Emergency Response Author(s): Mary Passe-Smith In a recent publication (Cutter et al., 2003), the authors constructed a county-level Social Vulnerability Index consisting of 11 variables thought to affect human vulnerability to environmental hazards. I plan to construct a similar weighted index using variables specific to hurricane vulnerability at the census block group level in Louisiana and Mississippi, and compare the outcome with the distribution of fatalities in Hurricane Katrina both visually and statistically to test the predictive capabilities of the resultant index. Indices of this type can pinpoint specifically where special needs planning and extra attention should be focused prior to onset by emergency managers. Mary Passe-Smith University of Central Arkansas Geography 201 Donaghey Ave Conway , AR 72035 US Phone: 501-450-3280 E-mail: marysuep@uca.edu |
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