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Vulnerability Assessment Techniques and Applications (VATA)
About Risk and Vulnerability Assessments (RVAs)What Are RVAs? | Our
Definitions | Vulnerability on the Rise | What Are Risk and Vulnerability Assessments (RVAs)?Vulnerability assessment techniques are used to determine the vulnerability of infrastructure networks, individual structures, and the economic, environmental, and societal factors related to the risks posed by hazards. This site focuses on coastal natural hazards.
Assessments may be conducted for single or multiple hazards and may address several sectors, including agriculture, education, energy, transportation, and tourism. Definitions. . . How This Site Is Using the TermsThere are a variety of definitions for vulnerability assessments. For the purpose of this Web site, terms are defined as follows: Disaster: A crisis event that surpasses the ability of the affected individual, community, or society to control or recover from its consequences. Exposure: The number, types, qualities, and monetary values of property or infrastructure and life that may be subject to an undesirable or injurious hazard event. Hazard: An event or physical condition that has the potential to cause fatalities, injuries, property damage, infrastructure damage, agricultural loss, damage to the environment, interruption of business, or other types of harm or loss. Risk: The potential for losses associated with a hazard, defined in terms of expected severity and/or frequency, and locations or areas affected. Vulnerability: The level of exposure of human life, property, and resources to impact from hazards. For additional definitions, please refer to the Glossary. Vulnerability on the Rise
"Growing losses result partly from the fact that the nation's capital stock is expanding, but they also stem from the fact that all these systems—and their interactions—are becoming more complex with each passing year" (Mileti 1999). As these interactive systems rise in complexity, so do activities related to development planning and emergency management (e.g., disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and hazard mitigation). Recognizing that levels of risk and vulnerability vary within high-risk areas, RVAs allow researchers to quantify and qualify the level of vulnerability present in these areas. As such, specific development planning and emergency management activities can be focused on those areas with the greatest potential for damage and loss. Although direct damage and loss is easier to quantify, it is equally important to estimate indirect damage and loss to develop a comprehensive analysis of disaster impacts. By combining hazard, risk, and probability research with effective tools designed to assess risk and vulnerability, resource managers are better able to
Read More Disasters by Design: A Reassessment of Natural Hazards in the United States Populations at Risk from Natural Hazards Reducing Impacts of Natural Hazards RVA . . . Not Just a Structural AnalysisHistorically, RVAs have tended to examine only structural elements (i.e., buildings, facilities, infrastructure, etc.). Engineering analyses of the built environment effectively determine the following:
Yet, prior to conducting an individual structural analysis, it is important to know which structures to evaluate. Knowledge gained through research and experiences with disasters indicate that there are losses and damages beyond the confines of the built environment. In 1975, Gilbert F. White and J. Eugene Hass stated that more research was needed concerning economic, social, and political ramifications to truly understand the extent of natural hazard impacts. Today, RVAs are performed for a variety of people, property, and resources. The following are examples of several components of RVAs:
Example of Vulnerability Assessment Techniques and Applications
References:Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). 1997. Multi Hazards Identification and Risk Assessment: A Cornerstone of the National Mitigation Strategy. Washington, D.C.: Federal Emergency Management Agency. Diaz, Henry F., and Pulwarty, Roger S. (Eds.). 1997. Hurricanes: Climate and Socioeconomic Impacts. Berlin and Heidelberg, Germany: Springer-Verlag. Mileti, D.S. 1999. Disasters by Design: A Reassessment of Natural Hazards in the United States. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press. White, G.F., and J.E. Haas. 1975. Assessment of Research on Natural Hazards. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. |
These
assessments may be conducted on three levels:
Vulnerability
is increasing because development is increasing and becoming denser in areas
that are at a high risk for being impacted by natural hazards. 
