Vulnerability to flooding: health and social dimensions

Tapsell, Sue M.; Penning‐Rowsell, Edmund C.; Tunstall, Sylvia; Wilson, Theresa

doi:10.1098/rsta.2002.1013

Cited by 340 publications

(289 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Depending on the expected severity of the consequences of the hazard individuals may worry more or less about socio-economic effects of flooding such as economic damage, damage to ecology or health, the disruption of family life and loss of life (Tapsell et al 2002). The more people worry about the risk, the larger the demand from that group of individuals is to reduce the risk.…”

Section: Worrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Flood risk perceptions and spatial multi-criteria analysis: an exploratory research for hazard mitigation

2008

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The conventional method of risk analysis (with risk as a product of probability and consequences) does not allow for a pluralistic approach that includes the various risk perceptions of stakeholders or lay people within a given social system. This article introduces a methodology that combines the virtues of three different methods: the quantifiable conventional approach to risk; the taxonomic analysis of perceived risk; and the analytical framework of a spatial multi-criteria analysis. This combination of methods is applied to the case study 'Ebro Delta' in Spain as part of the European sixth framework project 'Floodsite'. First, a typology for flood hazards is developed based on individual and/or stakeholders' judgements. Awareness, worry and preparedness are the three characteristics that typify a community to reflect various levels of ignorance, perceived security, perceived control or desired risk reduction. Applying 'worry' as the central characteristic, a trade-off is hypothesized between Worry and the benefits groups in society receive from a risky situation. Second, this trade-off is applied in Spatial Multi-Criteria Analysis (SMCA). MCA is the vehicle that often accompanies participatory processes, where governmental bodies have to decide on issues in which local stakeholders have a say. By using risk perception-scores as weights in a standard MCA procedure a new decision framework for risk assessment is developed. Finally, the case of sea-level rise in the Ebro Delta in Spain serves as an illustration of the applied methodology. Risk perception information has been collected with help of an on-site survey. Risk perception enters the multi-criteria analysis as complementary weights for the criteria risk and benefit. The results of the survey are applied to a set of scenarios representing both sea-level rise and land subsidence for a time span of 50 years. Land use alternatives have been presented to stakeholders in order to provide the regional decision maker with societal preferences 123Nat Hazards (2008) 46:307-322 DOI 10.1007 for handling risk. Even with limited resources a characteristic 'risk profile' could be drawn that enables the decision maker to develop a suitable land use policy.

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Section: Worrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Flood risk perceptions and spatial multi-criteria analysis: an exploratory research for hazard mitigation

2008

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“…The index is named "Indice di Vulnerabilita Materiale e Sociale", that can be translated into "Social and Economic Status Vulnerability Index (ISEV)". The ISEV takes into account indicators of the social and economic status of families similarly to the UK Social Vulnerability Index (Tapsell et al, 2002). The score assigned to each sector is based on the range of ISEV values at the national level.…”

Section: Exposure Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Validation of the coastal storm risk assessment framework along the Emilia-Romagna coast

Armaroli

Duo

2018

Coastal Engineering

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A B S T R A C TThe Italian coasts are threatened by coastal flooding and erosion. The Emilia-Romagna region coastline is exposed to marine storms because of its low-lying nature and massive urbanization. Regional managers need comprehensive tools for coastal storm risk assessment. The RISC-KIT Coastal Risk Assessment Framework (CRAF) provides a conceptual framework, which includes hazard, exposure and vulnerability evaluation, to implement a screening process able to identify littoral zones that can be classified as hotspots (Phase 1) and to successively rank the identified hotspots to select the most critical ones (Phase 2). This study includes the results of the implementation of CRAF Phase 1 in the Emilia-Romagna coast. The method is based on a Coastal Index approach, calculated for 1 km length coastal sectors, applied taking into account both hazard and exposure indicators. The general methodology was partly modified thanks to the strong collaboration with the End-User (Servizio Geologico Sismico e dei Suoli, SGSS) which provided data, suggestions and comments at every step of the implementation. The SGSS also provided data to validate the outcomes of the CRAF methodology. Thus, the critical areas identified by the CRAF were compared with historical (1946-2010) storm impacts, resulting in a reasonable agreement between the identified hotspots.

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“…Such changes happen when the status quo is disrupted by major catastrophic events such as floods. Previous research on flooding shows significant social differentiation in populations vulnerable to flood risk, and their differential access to services and insurance 15,16 . Across different exposures to risk, experience of flooding has also been demonstrated to have significant impacts on perceptions of responsibility for action 17,18 .…”

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confidence: 99%

Changing social contracts in climate-change adaptation

et al. 2012

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Risks from extreme weather events are mediated through state, civil society and individual action 1,2 . We propose evolving social contracts as a primary mechanism by which adaptation to climate change proceeds. We use a natural experiment of policy and social contexts of the UK and Ireland affected by the same meteorological event and resultant flooding in November 2009. We analyse data from policy documents and from household surveys of 356 residents in western Ireland and northwest England. We find significant differences between perceptions of individual responsibility for protection across the jurisdictions and between perceptions of future risk from populations directly affected by flooding events. These explain differences in stated willingness to take individual adaptive actions when state support retrenches. We therefore show that expectations for state protection are critical in mediating impacts and promoting longer-term adaptation. We argue that making social contracts explicit may smooth pathways to effective and legitimate adaptation.It is clear that climate change will not be experienced as a smooth change in mean conditions, but as a series of extreme weather events, possibly leading to crises in policy and planning. These can offer opportunities for investment and legislation while there is public support and attention 3,4 . Understanding how events shape the direction of adaptation requires a theory of the process of change.Social contract theory has a long history in political philosophy. It explains how governments and responsibility evolve over time as emerging risks pose challenges to the established consensus concerning the role of the state. Social contract theory is contested: there are profound debates on the balance of power between civil society and the state. Recent applications suggest that adaptation and resilience could lead to renegotiation of social contracts because of the co-evolving nature of risks and multi-actor influences on change 5 .

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Vulnerability to flooding: health and social dimensions

Cited by 340 publications

References 8 publications

Flood risk perceptions and spatial multi-criteria analysis: an exploratory research for hazard mitigation

Flood risk perceptions and spatial multi-criteria analysis: an exploratory research for hazard mitigation

Validation of the coastal storm risk assessment framework along the Emilia-Romagna coast

Changing social contracts in climate-change adaptation

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