Left out in a Storm

I recently came across a journal article by Flanagan et al for a course I’m taking on climate change and disaster risk management, entitled “A Social Vulnerability Index for Disaster Management.” The paper used Hurricane Katrina as a case study for examining social vulnerability of various groups. A few things stuck out to me, particularly related to minority language/status and housing/transportation categories that create additional constraints for already vulnerable groups.

The authors pointed out that those who face language barriers, especially for primary sources of information during an emergency, may not have quick and reliable access to necessary evacuation orders and safety precautions. Growing up in an immigrant household and community in central Houston around the times of Hurricane Katrina, Rita, and Ike, I saw firsthand the challenges of finding, interpreting, and explaining these bits of vital information for the skeptical adults in my family and neighborhood. Getting the evacuation order later means being later to refuel the car, join the highway evacuation traffic, or securing the last available affordable hotel rooms; and not receiving information about emergency supplies being dispersed during 16 days of power outage means struggling to secure non-perishable food, ice, drinking water, and other necessities. Immigrants often rely on relatives and friend networks for vital information, and doing so has become more dangerous in recent times, with the rise of misinformation campaigns and conspiracy theories via social media. While authorities have additional means for disseminating information in accessible languages and formats for people with language barriers and disabilities, there is also an emerging challenge of combating misinformation on these same channels. 

The authors also admitted some limitations in relying on census data, including how frequently the census is completed to capture the changes in population, housing, and socioeconomic status, and the lack of consideration where people work or play in addition to where they live. It is true for NYC and other expensive real estate markets that the lowest paid workers often resort to sharing crowded and unsafe/illegal housing units, bear long commutes to their work, rely heavily on walking/biking and public transportation, and are expected to show up to work even during known hazardous conditions. Moreover, many of these lowest paid workers are undocumented and/or have little access to public services and social safety nets such as healthcare, tenant protection, recovery support funds, etc. The pandemic has brought much attention to the plight of “essential workers” such as deliverers, caretakers, grocer stockers, restaurant staff, etc. but perhaps the most sobering evidence of their vulnerabilities came recently during Hurricane Ida, when storm surges and heavy rainfall flooded and caused severe damages to lowlaying and basement housing units—including units not up to legal codes that landlords opted to rent at reduced cost to undocumented and low-income workers and their families. I recall receiving the emergency text message alerts advising people to seek shelter, scrolling MTA Tweets about service changes (i.e. no trains), and stumbling across various subway ads for fast and easy food and grocery delivery services on my way home, and wondering to myself—how, exactly?

Reference:

Flanagan, Barry E.; Gregory, Edward W.; Hallisey, Elaine J.; Heitgerd, Janet L.; and Lewis,
Brian (2011) "A Social Vulnerability Index for Disaster Management," Journal of Homeland
Security and Emergency Management: Vol. 8: Iss. 1, Article 3.
DOI: 10.2202/1547-7355.1792
Available at: http://www.bepress.com/jhsem/vol8/iss1/3