Factsheet
Social vulnerability to disasters
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Author / Producer
Date
2010-11
Publication Type
Report
ETH Bibliography
yes
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Abstract
The impact of disasters understood as extreme events that cause great damage, destruction, and human suffering is not the same on all people. Disaster losses are only at first sight the result of the respective events. At second sight, they are reflections of human vulnerabilities that arise from physical, social, economic, and political conditions and inequalities that have little to do with the event itself. The concept of social vulnerability to disasters highlights these differences in disaster risk. This factsheet serves three main purposes: First, it offers a brief overview of the concept's meaning and of the central topics currently discussed in both research and policy. Second, it demonstrates the important link between social vulnerability and more established concepts such as risk and resilience, and shows the added value of a social vulnerability perspective in all phases of the disaster/risk management cycle. Finally, it aims to encourage a discussion on social vulnerability in Switzerland, since such a debate is de facto absent to date. It offers a number of practical recommendations on how a social vulnerability perspective can complement ongoing initiatives and processes in risk assessment and disaster management.
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Publication status
published
External links
Book title
Journal / series
Volume
2010
Pages / Article No.
Publisher
Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zürich
Event
Edition / version
Methods
Software
Geographic location
Date collected
Date created
Subject
SAFETY UND RISK MANAGEMENT (DANGER AND SAFETY); SICHERHEITS- UND RISIKOMANAGEMENT (SICHERHEIT UND GEFAHR); KATASTROPHENSCHUTZ + KATASTROPHENVERHÜTUNG + KATASTROPHENBEWÄLTIGUNG (RETTUNGSWESEN); DISASTER PREVENTION + CATASTROPHE PREVENTION + CATASTROPHE MANAGEMENT (RESCUE ASSISTANCE)
Organisational unit
03515 - Wenger, Andreas / Wenger, Andreas