The Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute at the University of South Carolina’s Geography Department has put together an interesting national Social Vulnerability Index, 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 vulnerable 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 here.