ABSTRACT

In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, multiple media sources claimed the event was an “equal opportunity” storm. These claims challenge existing social vulnerability research that finds marginalised groups have both unequal risk exposure and subsequent differential impacts from disasters (Cutter, Boruff, and Shirley 2003, “Assessing Current and Future Freshwater Flood Risk from North Atlantic Tropical Cyclones via Insurance Claims.” Scientific Reports 7 (February): 41609; Faber 2015, “Superstorm Sandy and the Demographics of Flood Risk in New York City.” Human Ecology 43 (3): 363–378. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-015-9757-x; Thomas et al. 2013, Social Vulnerability to Disasters. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press). To understand the accuracy of this “equal opportunity” assertion, we use ordinary least squares, simultaneous autoregressive, and geographically weighted regression techniques to investigate the relationships between indicators of social vulnerability and FEMA-approved housing damages from Hurricane Harvey across five cities in the Houston area. Findings suggest Harvey had disproportionate impacts on housing damages for Black, Latinx, and mobile home residents. These results serve as a foundational analysis for the broader purpose of informing policy decisions regarding recovery efforts and future approaches to improving flooding resilience in the Houston area.

摘要

在哈维飓风过后，多家媒体表示，这次活动是一场“机会均等”的风暴。这些说法挑战现有的社会脆弱性的研究，用于查找被边缘化的群体必须从灾难（切纸机，Boruff，和2003年雪莉都不平等的风险暴露和随后产生不同的影响，“通过保险索赔从北大西洋热带气旋评估当前和未来的淡水洪水风险。”科学报告7（2月）：41609； Faber 2015，“超级风暴桑迪与纽约市的洪水风险人口统计”。人类生态学43（3）：363-378。https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-015 -9757-x； Thomas等人，2013，《灾难的社会脆弱性》。佛罗里达州Boca Raton：CRC出版社）。为了了解这种“机会均等”主张的准确性，我们使用普通最小二乘法，同时自回归和地理加权回归技术来研究休斯顿五个城市的社会脆弱性指标与FEMA批准的飓风哈维房屋损毁之间的关系。区域。调查结果表明，哈维对黑人，拉丁裔和活动房屋居民的住房损害造成了不成比例的影响。这些结果为更广泛的目的提供了基础分析，旨在为有关恢复工作的政策决策和改善休斯顿地区防洪能力的未来方法提供信息。