Social vulnerability assessment using a statistical approach and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) scheme

Social vulnerability can be defined as potential loss to a social group arising from a hazard. It is a term that is broadly used in the context of hazard studies and a key factor in the development of hazard mitigation strategies. Due to spatial and temporal variations in the characteristics of communities, social vulnerability differs from society to society and from time to time. In this study, a quantitative approach towards understanding social vulnerability of Melbourne Metropolitan communities has been presented. Qualitative indicators obtained from literature review and community data were obtained from Australian Bureau of Statistics. Statistical analyses were undertaken to normalise the data of indicators using United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s Human Development Index. Twenty-eight local government councils of Metro Melbourne region were analysed and ranked according to their vulnerability index. The results show that a large number of populations are at lower levels of vulnerability except two councils with higher levels of vulnerability. English language proficiency and the lack of education are identified as the key socio-economic factors that contribute to vulnerability in that region. Importantly, the methodology described in this paper can provide a practical and convenient assessment of vulnerability for any major region.