Environmental Justice in Emergency Preparedness for Natural Hazards:

Are Vulnerable Populations in Nashville/Davidson County Equally Protected?

Dr. David A. Padgett Director Geographic Information Sciences Laboratory Tennessee State University Ms. Nia Foderingham BS, MBA, MSPH, MD Meharry Medical College

Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, Louisiana August 29, 2005 Exposed inner-city populations increased vulnerability to extreme weather events.

Nashvilles 37208 Zip Code Area: A potentially vulnerable population

Approximately 93% of the community is African American. Among the 9,945 occupied households in the area, 7.4% rely on public transportation as their way to work (the Nashville-Davidson County average is about 2.0%) 16.5% have no vehicles available

66% of residents live at or below the poverty level.

Source: U.S. Census

Mapping Nashville's Red Cross Emergency Shelters with Geospatial Technology: A Pearl-Cohn High School and TSU Community Engagement Partnership

Pearl Cohn High School

TSU Pilot Center for Academic Excellence in Intelligence Studies

TSU Geographic Information Sciences Laboratory

 During the 2008-2009 academic year Tennessee State

University (TSU) students enrolled in two service learning courses, Weather & Climate (GEOG 3500) and Urban Geography (GEOG 4850), exposed Pearl-Cohn High School students to data and information related to innercity emergency preparedness and response. The TSU volunteers assisted their Pearl-Cohn mentees in using geographical information systems (GIS) and global positioning systems (GPS) to map locations of Nashville Red Cross emergency shelters. The Pearl-Cohn students were enrolled in Mrs. Debbie Hirschs Technology Class. The project is funded by a State Farm Good Neighbor Service Learning Grant and supported in part by the TSU Pilot Center for Academic Excellence in Intelligence Studies.

Pearl-Cohn High School students are trained in GIS by TSU undergraduate students using learning modules developed by the National Center for Rural STEM Education Outreach James Madison University http://www.isat.jmu.edu/stem/

Spring 2009 Nashville Red Cross Shelters Raw Data

Pearl Cohn Students Individually Create Excel Spreadsheets from Shelter List

Students Excel Spreadsheets Combined to Create Final Electronic Shelter Database

Project Outcomes
May 2009 - The Pearl-Cohn High School students produced the first maps of the locations of Nashvilles Red Cross Emergency Shelters. Prior to this project, no such maps existed.

May 2009 - Red Cross Emergency Shelters mapping project reveals that the 37208 zip code area is underserved in terms of emergency shelter availability.

May 2009 -- Each Pearl-Cohn High School student and their teacher, Mrs. Debbie Hirsch, was presented a volunteer award certificate by the Nashville Chapter of the American Red Cross

Acknowledgements Debbie Hirsch (Technology Teacher), Bev Jacobs (Imagine College Director) and Marva Woods (Principal) PearlCohn Business Magnet High School State Farm Insurance Company The American Red Cross Nashville Chapter Environmental Systems Research Institute The TSU Pilot Center for Academic Excellence in Intelligence Studies All students enrolled in Mrs. Debbie Hirschs Technology Class during the 2008-2009 academic year All students enrolled in Dr. David A. Padgetts Weather & Climate (GEOG 3500) and Urban Geography (GEOG 4850) during the 2008-2009 academic year

Nashville, Tennessee Flood of 2010 May 1-3

 May of 2010 worst flooding in 140 years

500-1000 year flooding 17 inches of rain in 2 days

Cumberland River crested at 52 feet

12 ft above the flood stage

Release of water by the Army Corps of Engineers

Protect critical structures Potentially increased flooding

$2 Billion in damages More than 10,000 people displaced

St. Paul AME Church serves as an impromptu emergency shelter during the May 2010 flood.

 Identify susceptible populations that may be less able

to respond, cope and/ or recover from a hazardous event Vulnerable populations:

Higher risk of living in hazard zones, of living and

working in dwellings that are less hazard resistant

Less likely to have had exposure to emergency or

recovery preparedness interventions and have lower rates of post-disaster interventions

These factors increase the risk of injury, death, property

damage and psychosocial upheaval

 28 variables obtained from the Census Bureau

2010- 5 year estimates from the American Community

Survey (1 variable from the 2010 SF1) Tract Level- small statistical subdivisions of a County 2,500-8,000 people
Variables placed in a modified social vulnerability

analysis to create an index score for each tract

Most widely used in method in vulnerability

assessments for GIS analysis

 Social vulnerability scores used to create maps ARC

GIS 9.3.1.
From the mapped data the relationship between

shelters, tracts and the underlying population were determined.

Straight line measurements were taken in ARC

measuring the distance from the flood layer to the shelters.

Comparisons between the least and most vulnerable

communities were determined based on standard deviations from the mean

Most vulnerable standard deviation > +1.5 Least vulnerable standard deviation <-1.5.

 Population 3,120 people 46% identified as Hispanic or Latino More than 45% of the population had less than a high

school education
28% reported having no transportation 87% reported that they rented rather than owned their

homes.

 Most socially vulnerable tracts

More than 70% racial/ethnic minority (v. < 12%) Rates of poverty and lack of a high school education 8x

higher
On average earned at least $47,000 less Unemployment rates that were 4.5x higher Median Household value $300,000 less 4 times more likely to not own a personal automobile 14 times less likely to speak English proficiently.

 Highest proportion of shelters located in communities

with moderate social vulnerability

6 shelters in least socially vulnerable communities
Distributed in 3 tracts Evacuation capacity 19.24%

2 shelters in most socially vulnerable communities

Located in the same tract Evacuation capacity 0.32%

 Communities with moderate to high levels of social

vulnerability seemed more likely to be in the path of the flood

No shelters in the most vulnerable tract
Nearest shelter 0.4 mi
0.07 mi from flood layer

 Targeted culturally sensitive, disaster preparedness

education of vulnerable communities

FBOs can be leveraged as partners in the education process Literature, announcements and other information should be

distributed in at least English and Spanish Plans will also need to address evacuation possibilities for those without transportation and special needs Consider a local registry of those who may require evacuation assistance
Increased initiatives to decrease the socio-demographic

gap in the county to make communities less socially vulnerable

 Affordable flood insurance and flood insurance

education
Less than 4,000 homes had flood insurance prior to the

2010 Floods though more than 15,000 parcels were known to be in the 100 year flood plain
Re-investment in current housing stock of vulnerable

communities
Disproportionate proportion of wealth tied to housing

in minority communities Hazard Mitigation Grant Buyout Program Pilot housing development projects