County-by-county report identifies socially vulnerable communities in 13
states facing risk of drought, flooding, hurricanes and sea-level rise
WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A number of "hotspots" of
vulnerability to climate-related hazards exist in the US southeast, according
to a new groundbreaking study released today by Oxfam America. The report,
"Exposed: Social Vulnerability and Climate Change in the US Southeast," is the
first of its kind to combine hazards associated with climate change with
social variables, revealing the people and places that will most likely be hit
worst by climate change.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080221/DC14723LOGO)
"Climate change will impact everyone, but not everyone will be impacted
equally," said Oxfam America President Raymond C. Offenheiser. "Social factors
like income and race do not determine who will be hit by a natural disaster,
but they do determine a population's ability to prepare, respond, and recover
when disaster does strike. This report will serve as a critical tool to help
us identify especially vulnerable communities and invest wisely in their
climate resiliency and preparedness."
The study covers 13 states in the US southeast from Arkansas to Virginia,
measuring the underlying social and demographic characteristics of populations
and how some of those characteristics negatively affect their ability to cope
with climate change-related hazards, such as flooding, drought, hurricane
force winds and sea-level rise. Poverty is deepest in the rural South where
more than one in four people live in counties with persistent poverty, and it
is therefore one of the country's most socially vulnerable regions to climate
change.
"We have already seen that climate-related disasters hit some populations
worse than others," said Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO of the
NAACP. "From drought in western Alabama to hurricanes in Louisiana, this
research is instrumental in helping to identify those areas that are most
vulnerable, so that we can better prepare and help before disaster hits."
The study was conducted using the Social Vulnerability Index and overlaying it
with data of climate change-related hazards. The tool was developed by Dr.
Susan Cutter and Dr. Christopher Emrich at the Hazards and Vulnerability
Research Institute at the University of South Carolina.
"While the USGS was not involved in the Oxfam report, our recent work revealed
very similar findings about vulnerability hotspots in the Southeast," said US
Geological Survey scientist Virginia Burkett. "It is vitally important that we
understand vulnerabilities at a regional and local scale so that they can be
incorporated into future risk assessments and adaptation planning. Our
decisions today will determine the severity of climate change impacts in the
future."
"Climate change is happening and it's affecting the poor -- socially and
economically vulnerable communities -- first. As climate change increases and
intensifies floods, storms, and heat waves, many of the world's poorest
communities, from Biloxi to Bangladesh, will experience unprecedented stress,"
said Offenheiser. "Congress must act now to address climate change and invest
in the resiliency of poor communities on the frontlines of climate change at
home and abroad."
Note: The report is available in its entirety at www.oxfamamerica.org/adapt.
Complimenting the report are interactive maps where users will be able to
easily sift through thousands of data points to analyze data on climate change
threats facing specific areas.
Oxfam America is an international relief and development organization that
creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice. To join our
efforts or learn more, go to http://www.oxfamamerica.org/www.oxfamamerica.org
SOURCE Oxfam America
Laura Rusu, +1-202-459-3739, lrusu@oxfamamerica.org or Andrew Blejwas,
+1-617-785-7047,ablejwas@oxfamamerica.org, both of Oxfam America
