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Flooding has only relatively recently been considered as an environmental justice issue. In this paper we focus on flooding as a distinct form of environmental risk and examine some of the key evidence and analysis that is needed to underpin an environmental justice framing of flood risk and flood impacts. We review and examine the UK situation and the body of existing research literature on flooding to fill out our understanding of the patterns of social inequality that exist in relation to both flood risk exposure and vulnerability to the diverse impacts of flooding. We then consider the various ways in which judgements might be made about the injustice or justice of these inequalities and the ways in which they are being sustained or responded to by current flood policy and practice. We conclude that there is both evidence of significant inequalities and grounds on which claims of injustice might be made, but that further work is needed to investigate each of these. The case for pursuing the framing of flooding as an environmental justice issue is also made.

This paper investigates local-scale social vulnerability to flood hazards in Romania, aiming to identify the most vulnerable social and demographic groups across a wide range of geographical locations by considering three dimensions: demographic, socioeconomic, and the built environment. The purpose of the paper is threefold: first, it strives to improve the Social Vulnerability model (SoVI®) by applying a different weighting method adapted to the Romanian context, taking into consideration the municipalities exposed to flood movements. Second, it aims to develop an assessment model for the most vulnerable communities by measuring the heterogeneity according to local indicators related to disaster risks. Third, it aims to facilitate emergency managers to identify community sub-groups that are more susceptible to loss and to increase the resilience of local communities. To perform local-level vulnerability mapping, 28 variables were selected and three aggregated indexes were constructed with the help of the ArcGIS software. Moreover, a model of Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) between communities directly affected by floods and localities with high- and very high values of the Local Social Vulnerability Index (LoSoVI) was used to explore the spatial relationship among them and to compare the appropriateness of Ordinary Least Square (OLS) and GWR for such modelling. The established GWR model has revealed that the negative effects of flood hazards are often associated with communities with a high degree of social vulnerability. Thus, the analysis is able to provide a more comprehensive picture on communities in desperate need of financial resources in order to have the ability to diminish the negative impacts of flood hazards and to provide a more sustainable society.

28 Figure 7 : limites de la zone inondable et la zone inondée historiquement de la rive de Montréal de la rivière des prairies. [...] 68 Figure 27 : Aperçu de la table d’attributs de la base des données de la description de la sensibilité territoriale. [...] 41 Graphique 3 : Distribution des degrés de la sensibilité sociale par nombre d’aires de diffusion (206 AD au total) du secteur de la rivière des Prairies à Montréal à partir des résultats de l’indice ISSAIP des groupes de l’atelier de travail. [...] Cette analyse implique plusieurs étapes et le développement de plusieurs outils dont : la collecte des données disponibles et nécessaires pour réaliser un état des lieux des zones inondées historiquement pour une partie de la Ville de Montréal, la modélisation de l'espace occupé par l'eau selon différents niveaux d'eau possiblement atteints lors de débordement de la rivière, la collecte des donnée. [...] : la formation de réseaux de communication, la prise de décision, la création de consensus), qu’il est possible de mesurer, mais pas au moyen de données d’archives secondaires.

Abstract A leading challenge in measuring social vulnerability to hazards is for output metrics to better reflect the context in which vulnerability occurs. Through a meta-analysis of 67 flood disaster case studies (1997–2013), this paper profiles the leading drivers of social vulnerability to floods. The results identify demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, and health as the leading empirical drivers of social vulnerability to damaging flood events. However, risk perception and coping capacity also featured prominently in the case studies, yet these factors tend to be poorly reflected in many social vulnerability indicators. The influence of social vulnerability drivers varied considerably by disaster stage and national setting, highlighting the importance of context in understanding social vulnerability precursors, processes, and outcomes. To help tailor quantitative indicators of social vulnerability to flood contexts, the article concludes with recommendations concerning temporal context, measurability, and indicator interrelationships.

Tokyo is located in a lowland area that is vulnerable to flooding. Due to global climate change, the scalability and frequency of flooding is increasing. On the other hand, population aging and family structural changes, as well as the lack of adaptation measures, would accelerate flooding vulnerability. The key factors involved in social vulnerability must be studied to reduce the risk of flooding. In this study, we refer to the MOVE framework (a disaster vulnerability assessment framework) and analyze it from three perspectives: Exposure to social vulnerability, susceptibility, and resilience. We subsequently develop an index system to complete the evaluation using 11 indicators. The collected data will help reveal social vulnerability to floods in the Katsushika Ward, Tokyo, using the information entropy method and GIS. We found that the western region of the Katsushika Ward is at more risk than the eastern region during flooding. Additionally, the possibility of a serious crisis erupting is greater in the southwestern region than in the northwestern region. Consequently, we conclude that the spatial distribution of flooding varies in the region. The results of this study will help in understanding social vulnerability, in selecting and combining adaptation measures suited to the characteristics of the area, and in the effective and efficient implementation of these measures by the local government’s disaster department.

The impacts of flooding are expected to rise due to population increases, economic growth and climate change. Hence, understanding the physical and spatiotemporal characteristics of risk drivers (hazard, exposure and vulnerability) is required to develop effective flood mitigation measures. Here, the long-term trend in flood vulnerability was analysed globally, calculated from the ratio of the reported flood loss or damage to the modelled flood exposure using a global river and inundation model. A previous study showed decreasing global flood vulnerability over a shorter period using different disaster data. The long-term analysis demonstrated for the first time that flood vulnerability to economic losses in upper-middle, lower-middle and low-income countries shows an inverted U-shape, as a result of the balance between economic growth and various historical socioeconomic efforts to reduce damage, leading to non-significant upward or downward trends. We also show that the flood-exposed population is affected by historical changes in population distribution, with changes in flood vulnerability of up to 48.9%. Both increasing and decreasing trends in flood vulnerability were observed in different countries, implying that population growth scenarios considering spatial distribution changes could affect flood risk projections.

Although numerous studies have been conducted on the vulnerability of marginalized groups in the environmental justice (EJ) and hazards fields, analysts have tended to lump people together in broad racial/ethnic categories without regard for substantial within-group heterogeneity. This paper addresses that limitation by examining whether Hispanic immigrants are disproportionately exposed to risks from flood hazards relative to other racial/ethnic groups (including US-born Hispanics), adjusting for relevant covariates. Survey data were collected for 1283 adult householders in the Houston and Miami Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and flood risk was estimated using their residential presence/absence within federally-designated 100-year flood zones. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) with binary logistic specifications that adjust for county-level clustering were used to analyze (separately) and compare the Houston (N = 546) and Miami (N = 560) MSAs in order to clarify determinants of household exposure to flood risk. GEE results in Houston indicate that Hispanic immigrants have the greatest likelihood, and non-Hispanic Whites the least likelihood, of residing in a 100-year flood zone. Miami GEE results contrastingly reveal that non-Hispanic Whites have a significantly greater likelihood of residing in a flood zone when compared to Hispanic immigrants. These divergent results suggest that human-flood hazard relationships have been structured differently between the two MSAs, possibly due to the contrasting role that water-based amenities have played in urbanization within the two study areas. Future EJ research and practice should differentiate between Hispanic subgroups based on nativity status and attend to contextual factors influencing environmental risk disparities.

INTRODUCTION A substantial body of research has focused on the vulnerability of racial/ethnic minorities to hazards and disasters. This work has lumped people with diverse characteristics into general groups, such as "Hispanic" or "Latino/a" (Bolin 2007). Today, Hispanic immigrants represent an important group in U.S. society due to their large and increasing population. According to American Community Survey estimates, as of 2013 there were 21 million foreign-born Hispanics in the U.S., representing 52.5 percent of the total foreign-born population and 6 percent of the U.S. population. Hispanic immigrants are distinguishable from U.S.--born Hispanics due to their concerns about immigration status as well as cultural and linguistic differences. Treating Hispanics as a homogenous group may mask important differences between foreign-born and U.S.--born Hispanics and lead to erroneous conclusions about their disaster vulnerabilities. In order to address the particular risks experienced by foreign-born Hispanics in the U.S., more research characterizing salient dimensions of their vulnerability to hazards and disasters is needed. This study highlights particular vulnerabilities of foreign-born Hispanics living at risk to flooding and hurricanes in the Houston, Texas, and Miami, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) by examining their self-protective actions, and their perceptions of and knowledge about flood risks, in comparison to both U.S.--born non-Hispanic whites and U.S.--born Hispanics. It addresses two research questions: what differences exist in self-protective actions and perceptions of risk between Hispanic immigrants, U.S.--born Hispanics, and U.S.--born white residents who live at high risk to flooding and hurricanes; and why do differences in self-protective actions and perceptions of risk exist between Hispanic immigrants, U.S.--born Hispanics, and U.S.--born white residents who live at high risk to flooding and hurricanes? Approaching these questions, we analyze primary structured survey and semistructured interview data using a mixed-method analysis approach, which enables us to clarify particular factors that place Hispanic immigrants at increased risk to flood and hurricane disasters. LITERATURE REVIEW The last three decades have marked the emergence of a social-vulnerability perspective on hazards and disasters, which emphasizes the influence of inequalities on differential risks (Hewitt 1983, 1997; Peacock and others 1997; Wisner and others 2004; Tierney 2006; Thomas and others 2013). From this perspective, risk is determined partly by human exposure to a hazard and partly by people's social vulnerability. While there is debate about the meaning and measurement of social vulnerability, the following definition is useful: "the characteristics of a person or group and their situation that influence their capacity to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from the impact of a natural hazard" (Wisner and others 2004, 11). In this study, we analyze the social vulnerability of Hispanic immigrants in terms of self-protection from flood/hurricane hazards, and perceptions of and knowledge about flood/hurricane risks. Here, self-protection is defined as any structural or nonstructural strategy used by households to minimize loss and enable recovery from the impacts of flood or hurricane hazard exposures (NRC 2006). Self-protection strategies in the context of flood and hurricane hazards include home structural as well as nonstructural actions. Structural mitigation actions include elevating home structures, flood-proofing homes, and installing hurricane shutters (FEMA 2014). They also include nonstructural actions, such as maintaining flood insurance. In terms of nonstructural self-protection strategies, in the U.S., flood insurance plays an important protective role, since it provides compensation for property losses. Disaster preparedness is another dimension of nonstructural self-protection that has been examined extensively (Mulilis and Lippa 1990; Faupel and others 1992; Norris and others 1999; Sattler and others 2000; Miceli and others 2008; Borque and others 2013), and can include evacuation planning, maintaining basic supplies (for example, a first aid kit) and being alert (for example, being attentive to hazard reports). …

La province du Nouveau-Brunswick, situee dans l’est du Canada, est tres affectee par les inondations. Bien que moins documentee que l’alea, la dimension humaine du risque que represente la vulnerabilite est importante pour l’adaptation des populations. Cet article fait un survol des principaux concepts lies a la vulnerabilite et presente leur application a l’echelle d’un bassin versant de taille moyenne. Les resultats montrent la necessite de considerer simultanement la perception et la preparation au risque d’inondation. En effet, si certains residents dans les zones a risque ont une bonne connaissance des inondations et une perception realiste du risque, cela ne se traduit pas necessairement par une preparation adaptee et adequate face au risque. La reduction du risque passe indeniablement par une meilleure sensibilisation et education de la population.

Climate change has induced considerable changes in the dynamics of key hydro-climatic variables across Canada, including floods. In this study, runoff projections made by 21 General Climate Models (GCMs) under four Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) are used to generate 25 km resolution streamflow estimates across Canada for historical (1961–2005) and future (2061–2100) time-periods. These estimates are used to calculate future projected changes in flood magnitudes and timings across Canada. Results obtained indicate that flood frequencies in the northernmost regions of Canada, and south-western Ontario can be expected to increase in the future. As an example, the historical 100-year return period events in these regions are expected to become 10–60 year return period events. On the other hand, northern prairies and north-central Ontario can be expected to experience decreases in flooding frequencies in future. The historical 100-year return period flood events in these regions are expected to become 160–200 year return period events in future. Furthermore, prairies, parts of Quebec, Ontario, Nunavut, and Yukon territories can be expected to experience earlier snowmelt-driven floods in the future. The results from this study will help decision-makers to effectively manage and design municipal and civil infrastructure in Canada under a changing climate.