What Population Characteristics Affect Vulnerability?
Socioeconomic Status (Income, Political Power, Prestige): Socioeconomic status affects the ability of a community to absorb losses and be resilient to hazard impacts. Wealth enables communities to absorb and recover from losses more quickly using insurance, social safety nets, and entitlement programs. High status (+/-) Low income or status (+) Gender: Women often have a more difficult time during recovery than men because of sector-specific employment (e.g., personal services), lower wages, and family care responsibilities. Gender (+) Race and ethnicity: These factors impose language and cultural barriers and affect access to post-disaster funding and occupation of high-hazard areas. Non-white (+) Non-Anglo (+) Age: Extremes of age affect the movement out of harm’s way. Parents lose time and money caring for children when day care facilities are affected; the elderly may have mobility constraints or concerns that increase the burden of care and lack of resilience. Elderly (+) Children
