As climate change focuses more frequent and intense disasters on vulnerable communities across the globe, mitigation and response resources need to be allocated more efficiently and equitably. Vulnerability assessments require time, skill, and cost money. In the United States (US), these assessments are mandated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to qualify for federal funding. However, new trends in the literature clearly question their practical value. This study begins with a focused literature review which demonstrates that popular social vulnerability indices that create a single vulnerability score can diminish the significance of a lone variable, overlook the relevancy of all interconnected variables, and can result in contradictory policy recommendations. Next, existing case studies that used popular vulnerability assessment frameworks were compared to maps generated of the same study area that employed the single variable of poverty. These case study comparisons demonstrated how considering this greatest common variable among different vulnerable groups can often - quickly, efficiently, and inexpensively - reveal close to the same county and sub-county level community vulnerabilities detailed in costly assessments. Finally, a national survey of emergency managers was conducted to determine how much current social vulnerability indices were actually governing the ongoing distribution of resources to the communities being served. Results indicate that, while these indicator models may be underused nationally, those who do find them effective tend to be from higher income areas. This study questions the practical value of these indices for emergency management practice in the US and for meeting the goals of the Sendai Framework and other compacts.

由于气候变化使全球脆弱社区的灾害更加频繁和严重，因此需要更有效和公平地分配缓解和响应资源。漏洞评估需要时间、技能和成本。在美国 (US)，这些评估由联邦紧急事务管理局 (FEMA) 授权，以符合获得联邦资助的资格。然而，文献中的新趋势显然质疑它们的实用价值。本研究从重点文献回顾开始，该回顾表明创建单一脆弱性评分的流行社会脆弱性指数会降低单个变量的重要性，忽视所有相互关联的变量的相关性，并可能导致相互矛盾的政策建议。下一个，将使用流行的脆弱性评估框架的现有案例研究与使用单一贫困变量的同一研究区域生成的地图进行了比较。这些案例研究比较表明，考虑到不同弱势群体之间的这一最大共同变量，如何经常——快速、高效且廉价地——揭示成本高昂的评估中详述的接近相同的县和县级社区脆弱性。最后，对应急管理人员进行了一项全国调查，以确定当前社会脆弱性指数实际上在多大程度上控制了向所服务社区持续分配的资源。结果表明，虽然这些指标模型在全国范围内可能没有得到充分利用，但发现它们有效的人往往来自高收入地区。