1. Home
  2. collections

Inequality as a disaster risk driver

Related links
Heat and inequality
Image
Poverty

Introduction

You can’t talk about disaster risk reduction without talking about inequality.

Disaster risk is shaped by a range of social and economic factors that determine entitlements and capabilities. Access to services, political voice, and social and economic status directly affect disaster risk and resilience.

In turn, inequality can create more disaster risk, trapping people into a vicious cycle.

If inequality continues to rise, it may become a destabilising global force that manifests not only in increasing disaster risk but also in decreasing capacities to manage those risks.

This collection compiles resources on the ways disadvantaged social groups are affected by various hazards.

Share this
www.preventionweb.net/quick/77744 Copy to clipboard

Knowledge base

Research briefs

Wildfire risk is soaring for low-income, elderly and other vulnerable populations in California, Washington and Oregon

As wildfires burn across the Western U.S., the people in harm’s way are increasingly those least able to protect their homes from fire risks, evacuate safely or recover after a fire.
Conversation Media Group, the
Cover Urban Climate
Documents and publications
2023

Heat vulnerability of Latino and Black residents in a low-income community and their recommended adaptation strategies: A qualitative study

This paper explored residents' heat-related health and well-being outcomes, heat vulnerability, and recommended adaptation strategies in a low-income community of color.
Urban Climate (Elsevier)
An aerial view of damage caused by Hurricane Harvey in Texas, USA (2017)
Research briefs

Hurricanes have become deadlier, especially for socially vulnerable

Landmark study in Science Advances reveals variation of excess deaths after hurricanes in the U.S. varied by hurricane season, geography, and social vulnerability.
Mailman School of Public Health (Columbia University)
A Black adult man has a headache. He sits and holds his hands on his head in a dark room.
Research briefs

Extreme heat may hasten cognitive decline in vulnerable populations

Black older adults and residents of disadvantaged neighborhoods at greater risk for cognitive decline linked to heat waves
New York University
Wildfire damage, Santa Rosa, California
Research briefs

Addressing justice in wildfire risk management

A new article calls for more integrated and inclusive wildfire risk management approaches and proposes a novel framework mapping different justice aspects.
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
Research briefs

Empowering vulnerable communities in the face of growing natural threats

New study reveals how people in low-income communities of color are inequitably vulnerable to wildfire smoke, extreme heat, and other hazards fueled by climate change. The pilot study details ways for these communities to gather data and improve outcomes.
Stanford University
Research briefs

Homeowners in mostly white communities prefer to risk repeat flooding rather than move to more diverse neighborhoods on safer ground

Even after suffering flood damage, homeowners in mostly white communities prefer to accept higher risk of disaster repeating itself than relocate to areas with more racial diversity and less flood risk, according to new research from Rice University.
Rice University
Flood aftermath in West End suburb in Brisbane, Australia on March 1, 2022
Research briefs

Study: ‘Multiplicity of impact’ from disasters affects Black people most

Rice researchers also examine political consequences of climate-related events.
Rice University
A tired and stressed worker sweating from the hot weather in the summer working in a port goods cargo shipping logistic ground,
Updates

How inequality shapes your experience of a heatwave

When the mercury rises, does your anxiety rise with it? If so, you are not alone. According to the UK’s Office for National Statistics, three-quarters of British people are worried about climate change and 43% claim to experience anxiety about the planet.
Conversation Media Group, the
Aerial view of a burned area
Updates

Wildfire preparedness and response must include planning for unhoused people and other vulnerable populations

The 2023 Canadian wildfire season is off to a roaring start. In Alberta, there have been more than 560 wildfires so far — the highest recorded number of fires since 2018, and the season has only just begun
Conversation Media Group, the