Inequality as a disaster risk driver

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.

Themes

Social impacts and social resilience

Knowledge base

Themes

Hazards

Region & country

Content type

Update

9 February 2024

Digital inequality – A challenge to climate risk responses in Pakistan?

Displacement is a major impact of the climate crisis in Pakistan. In a flood emergency access to the ‘digital ecosystem’ provided by mobile devices can be critical for individual safety, but not everyone has equal access.

Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)

Update

22 November 2023

Inequity in U.S. wildfire emergency response

Research shows that counties with higher black and lower-income populations receive less support in wildfire disasters.

The Society for Risk Analysis (SRA)

Research briefs

20 September 2023

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

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

16 August 2023

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

15 August 2023

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

Research briefs

11 July 2023

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

5 July 2023

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

15 June 2023

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