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PREDICTED VS. OBSERVED SOCIAL
VULNERABILITY OF COASTAL RESIDENTS: HURRICANE KATRINA
IMPACTS IN MISSISSIPPI AND ALABAMA
Research by Drs. Susan L. Cutter and Jerry T.
Mitchell
Department of Geography
University of South Carolina researchers
systematically assessed the disparities in the level of
damage (physical vulnerability) and the socio-economic
characteristics of residents (social vulnerability)
along the Mississippi-Alabama Coast in the wake of
Hurricane Katrina. This project collected geographically
referenced field data on the location and extent of the
destruction caused by storm surge inundation. Field data
was correlated with empirically derived social
vulnerability indices to more fully explain which
communities were the most vulnerable and why.
The researchers’ goals were to understand the
circumstances that place people and localities at risk
(susceptibility, resistance), to understand the
circumstances that enhance or reduce the ability to
respond to disaster (resilience, adaptation), to uncover
the spatial distribution of storm surge in Mississippi
and Alabama, and to correlate the Social Vulnerability
Index (SoVI) with Katrina damage.
 Specifically,
this research focused on factors that heightened or
lessened vulnerability, many of which have direct
linkages to underrepresented groups. Researchers
investigated these differential vulnerabilities along
with the role of place in establishing susceptibility
and/or resilience to disaster. The outcome of this
research provided information to state and local
officials as they began the process of reconstructing
coastal and inland communities.
In order to assess the disparities outlined in the study
goals, University of South Carolina researchers created
a SoVI that identified the areas in storm surge zones
most likely to have recovery difficulties and,
therefore, in possible need of additional attention. The
team also created a spatially accurate damage dataset
that matched fairly well with FEMA damage assessments.
The analysis took place in USC’s Hazards Research Lab, a
research and graduate training lab focused on the use of
geographic information science in environmental hazards
analysis and management. This research extends that
mission to include the undergraduate classroom. The team
found that though some discrepancies were noted between
USC field observations of storm surge as compared to
predictions from the National Weather Service SLOSH
(Sea, Lake and Overland Surges from Hurricanes) model,
the highest social vulnerability within storm- surge
zones appears in the communities of Biloxi, Pascagoula,
and Bayou La Batre.
This project demonstrated the growing need for
geo-spatial technologies for disaster problem solving,
including global positioning systems, geographic
information systems, and remotely sensed imagery. By
identifying both physically and socially vulnerable
areas, communities might use this work as a pre-disaster
resource for mitigation planning. Researchers concluded
that additional long-term tracking will be needed as
factors that influence vulnerability will change in
those places over time.
These results were presented at the Association of
American Geographers meeting in March 2006 and published
as: Cutter, S.L., C. T. Emrich, J. T. Mitchell, B. J.
Boruff, M. Gall, M. Schmidtlein, C. Burton, and G.
Melton. 2006. “The Long Road Home: Race, Class, and
Recovery from Hurricane Katrina.” Environment. 48(2):
8-20.Biographies
Dr. Susan Cutter is a Carolina Distinguished
Professor of Geography at the University of South
Carolina. She is also the director of the USC Hazards
Research Lab. Her primary research interests are in the
area of vulnerability science – what makes people and
the places where they live vulnerable to extreme events
and how this vulnerability is measured, monitored, and
assessed. She has authored or edited 12 books and more
than 100 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters.
Research Team/Collaborators:
The research team included a mix of USC faculty,
graduate, and undergraduate students: Dr. Susan Cutter;
Dr. Jerry Mitchell; Dr. Chris Emrich; Dr. Bryan Boruff;
Melanie Gall; Chris Burton; Ginni Melton; and Matt
Schmidtlein. |
