• What is vulnerability?
• Why conduct vulnerability assessments?
• Who conducts vulnerability assessments?
• How do you conduct a vulnerability assessment?

What is vulnerability?

• Vulnerability is the susceptibility of resources to negative impacts from hazard events.

It is these negative impacts that concern most people. While the study of hazards, risks, and probabilities is an important component of vulnerability, alone it does not provide resource managers with the information necessary to prioritize mitigation alternatives or measure improvements in mitigation. In order to make efficient use of your mitigation resources, it is not enough to know if, when, or even where a hazard event will strike. You need to know where your vulnerabilities are so you can make the most of your pre-disaster planning efforts.

Why conduct vulnerability assessments?

• Know where you are before mapping out where you are going.

You should not be conducting a vulnerability assessment simply to see how it turns out. In fact, you should anticipate that it will turn out badly. All communities are vulnerable to hazards. Your goal is to establish a starting point on the way toward reducing your vulnerability. A vulnerability assessment can be your guide for developing mitigation strategies and prioritizing mitigation projects. You should also plan to repeat the assessment to measure the effectiveness of your mitigation activities at appropriate time intervals for your community.

Who conducts vulnerability assessments?

• Identifying vulnerability requires multiple disciplines.

One reason that vulnerability assessments can seem so daunting is that they require investigation and analysis in multiple disciplines, including physical and social sciences and engineering. Very few individuals possess the knowledge or background to complete these steps alone. A good vulnerability assessment will draw from appropriate disciplines and utilize as much local expertise as possible. While a single individual may take on the responsibility of data collection and integration or leading the overall effort, success will depend heavily on the quality of information provided by others.

How do you conduct a vulnerability assessment?

• There is as much value in the process as there is in the outcome.

There is no single "correct" method for conducting a vulnerability assessment. The methodology provided in the vulnerability assessment tutorial on this CD-ROM was designed as a general assessment of a community’s physical, social, environmental, and economic vulnerabilities. It is intended as a guide, supported by a real-world example. The methodology allows flexibility for utilizing a wide range of data sources. It can be condensed to focus on fewer vulnerability factors or it can be expanded to include more in-depth analyses. The data sources and analyses used in the case study illustrate only one of many possible ways to follow this general methodology.