Jan 11

Written by: GISblog
1/11/2012 10:00 PM 

The Hazards & Vulnerability Research Institute at the University of South Carolina Geography Department has put together an interesting national Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI®) which measures the social vulnerability of every U.S. county to environmental hazards. 

The model factors in over 30 socioeconomic variables- mostly derived from U.S. Census data including the American Community Survey (ACS)-which contribute to a community’s ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from hazards. 

Notice how some areas are more vulnurable than others...some of which you might not expect. 

This is a good example of why more social data needs to be incorporated into Emergency Management efforts.

Read more about this project and the institute at: http://webra.cas.sc.edu/hvri/


--Rob Pitts