Social Vulnerability and Disasters Resources

Here are some additional resources that can be used to support hazards and disaster research on vulnerable populations.

These resources include key readings, standardized measures, secondary datasets, and other web resources. You can also download and save these resources as a PDF.

Secondary Datasets

• CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) 
• University of South Carolina’s Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI)
• The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Hazus
• Global Risk Data Platform
• The American Hotspots Project 

Other Resources

• Communicating Risk in Public Health Emergencies: A World Health Organization Guideline for Emergency Risk Communication (ERC)  
• Community Stress Resource Center
• Disaster Ready
• Emergency Preparedness and Response for Vulnerable Populations 
• Inter-Agency Standing Committee Task Team on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action
• Understanding Older People and Their Needs in a Humanitarian Context 

Key Readings

• Children
  • Children and Disasters
  • Children with Disabilities in the Context of Disaster: A Social Vulnerability Perspective 
• Pregnant/Postpartum/Lactating Women
  • Assisting Pregnant Women to Prepare for Disaster
  • Cluster Sampling with Referral to Improve the Efficiency of Estimating Unmet Needs Among Pregnant and Postpartum Women After Disasters
• Older Adults
  • Morbidity and Mortality Associated with Disasters 
  • Response of the Elderly to Disaster: An Age-stratified Analysis
• Persons with Limited English Proficiency
  • A Synthesis of the Findings from the Quake Impact Study: A Two-Year Investigation of the Psychosocial Sequelae of the 1989 Newcastle Earthquake
  • Languages and Literacy Chapter in Social Vulnerability to Disasters
• Low-Income Groups
  • Natural Disasters, Human Development and Poverty at the Municipal Level in Mexico
  • Poverty and Disasters in the United States: A Review of Recent Sociological Findings
• Racial and Ethnic Minorities
  • Population Composition, Migration and Inequality: The Influence of Demographic Changes on Disaster Risk and Vulnerability 
  • Race, Ethnicity and Disasters in the United States: A Review of the Literature
• People with Medical Issues & Disabilities
  • People with Disabilities and Disasters
  • When Chronic Conditions Become Acute: Prevention and Control of Chronic Diseases and Adverse Health Outcomes During Natural Disasters
• Review Articles
  • Disaster Vulnerability: Scale, Power and Daily Life
  • Identifying and Mapping Community Vulnerability

Other CONVERGE Resources

• CONVERGE Extreme Events Reconnaissance and Research Networks
• CONVERGE Extreme Events Research Check Sheets Series
• CONVERGE Training Modules  
• CONVERGE Training Modules Annotated Bibliographies
• CONVERGE Training Modules Assignment Bank
• CONVERGE Webinars and Virtual Forums
• CONVERGE COVID-19 Resources