Chapter 5: Social and Economic Environments
Vulnerability to Natural Hazards
Background: You live on a small island in the Caribbean that has undergone significant
deforestation. The primary economic activity on the island is agriculture, plus some employment
in a fledgling tourist industry. Most of the population is rural, but there are some small towns.
The only major settlement is the capital city, which houses several hundred thousand people. At
4:13 AM one morning, an earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale hits the island. The
epicenter of the eruption is on the outskirts of the capital city but the whole island is affected by
the quake. Assign one member of your group to represent each of the following individuals.
Each group member should then introduce their individual to the group before you discuss how
the relative vulnerability of these individuals might differ.
Raoul
Raoul is a sanitation worker who lives in the capital city. Although he has a full-time job, he
finds it difficult to make ends meet. He lives with his wife, Marisa, and their three teenage
children in a poor suburb of the city. Years of poor nutrition have left Raoul suffering from
diabetes.
Dolores
Dolores is 78 years old and lives in an affluent suburb of the capital city. Her husband died
several years ago and she now lives alone, receiving only intermittent visits from her adult son.
Dolores requires regular medication to keep a heart condition under control.
Sofia
Sofia is six years old and lives with her mother and two brothers in a village on the outskirts of
the capital city. Her father lives in the United States and sends money home to the family. The
family operates a subsistence farm, selling extra produce in the city when they are able. Their
only transportation is a daily bus into and out of the city and a bicycle owned by the family.
Carlos
Carlos comes from an agricultural village deep in the countryside, but now works as a wage
laborer in the city. He can only find work periodically and earns very little. Although he is in his
twenties and generally fit, Carlos has a back injury sustained from hauling goods. He lives in a
shanty town on a steep slope on the edge of the city.
Ernesto
Ernesto is a politician who lives in a large house in the hills overlooking the city. He lives with
his wife and employs three domestic workers. He has no children. The family owns two cars and
makes regular trips abroad to visit their extended family.
Anthamatten and Hazen (2011), An Introduction to the Geography of Health