A vulnerabilidade social aos perigos naturais e tecnológicos em Portugal

Abstract

This paper presents a new model of analysis of social vulnerability to natural and technological hazards. The index used in this analysis allows us to structure vulnerability assessment in two dimensions: the vulnerabilities of populations and communities (criticality), and territorial vulnerability (support capacity), which reflect the biophysical exposure or vulnerability, social resilience, and infrastructural support capacity. This new social vulnerability index is applied within the territorial system of mainland Portugal, based on the municipal and sub-municipal scale, considering the social resilience of individuals, groups, and communities to extreme events.The obtained results highlight the decisive role of the used scale in the analysis of processes related to social vulnerability. We suggest that mapping the more vulnerable areas and groups, as well as identifying triggering factors, can be a relevant contribution for land-use development and planning programs designed to mitigate territorial risks and vulnerabilities.

Keywords

• natural disasters
• evaluation scales
• factors of risk
• resilience
• natural and technological hazards
• social vulnerability