Description
Defined as “the conditions or processes which increase the susceptibility of an individual, a community, assets or systems to the impacts of hazards" by UNDRR (2017), reducing vulnerability presents a significant opportunity for mitigating disaster risk. The Risk Data Hub developed a vulnerability framework introducing a cross-scale indicator for measuring vulnerability at the European level. This indicator is composed of five dimensions: social, economic, political, environmental and physical.
Contact
Contributors
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- Andrea SIBILIA
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0009-0001-3343-6965
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- Gustav EKLUND
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- Sepehr MARZI
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0000-0002-8318-3767
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- Igor VALLI
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0009-0002-2420-9805
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- Christos BOUNTZOUKLIS
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0000-0002-1837-1796
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- Samuel ROESLIN
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0000-0001-8793-8322
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- Davide RODOMONTI
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- Sandro SALARI
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- Tiberiu-Eugen ANTOFIE
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0009-0005-2315-0997
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- Christina CORBANE
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0000-0002-2670-1302
How to cite
SIBILIA, Andrea; EKLUND, Gustav; MARZI, Sepehr; VALLI, Igor; BOUNTZOUKLIS, Christos; ROESLIN, Samuel; RODOMONTI, Davide; SALARI, Sandro; ANTOFIE, Tiberiu-Eugen; CORBANE, Christina (2025): Vulnerability. European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) [Dataset] PID: http://data.europa.eu/89h/f161517b-2153-4a8f-b4b0-7834e5bfd5f5
Keywords
Data access
The Risk Data Hub (RDH) has introduced an Application Programming Interface (API) that enables users to query the core datasets within the RDH database. This feature allows users to autonomously extract the data they require. The RDH API presents robust search capabilities, enabling users to retrieve specific data elements tailored to their individual needs. The RDH API can be accessed directly through coding or via Postman (Asthana et al., 2012), a platform that facilitates interaction with various API endpoints. Ultimately, the RDH API significantly enhances access to curated Europe-wide information related to risk, hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and historical disaster loss data specific to Europe.
Publications
- ELSEVIER
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Abstract
The escalating frequency of extreme climatic events and ongoing urbanization expose European communities to increasing disaster risks, which are determined not only by the hazardous events themselves, but also by the exposure and vulnerability to these hazards. Consequently, effective risk management strategies cannot overlook a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing vulnerability of the communities. This paper addresses this need by presenting a European-wide framework for the development of a Vulnerability Index (VI) that evaluates vulnerability at both national and subnational scales. Adopting a multi-dimensional, multi-level approach, the VI captures socio-economic, environmental, and physical factors contributing to community resilience. A standardized, supranational methodology is employed, providing harmonized cross-country information and time series data for vulnerability and its underlying indicators. This comprehensive assessment facilitates the understanding of socio-economic dynamics, enabling the formulation of targeted policy actions at both country and subnational levels. By offering insights into current vulnerability trends, the VI underlines the importance of governance, economic factors, and disaster preparedness in reducing vulnerability at different administrative levels, while highlighting the role of social factors, such as poverty and social exclusion, in community vulnerability at sub-regional levels.
- Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, Luxembourg
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Abstract
Vulnerability is one of the three risk components considered in disaster risk assessment, together with hazard and exposure. Since we cannot reduce the occurrence and severity of natural hazards, reducing vulnerability is one of the main opportunities for reducing disaster risk. In this report we present a cross-scale indicator for measuring vulnerability at the European level. The indicator is composed of four dimensions (social, economic, political and environmental) and is meant to capture the systemic vulnerability to disasters at different administrative levels (Country, NUTS2 and NUTS3 – see description of these levels in chapter 3). We derive an indicator with values ranging from 0 to 10 that encloses the four dimensions in a multi-level approach. The analyses presented build on the data and the vulnerability framework implemented in the Disaster Risk Management Knowledge Centre (DRMKC) Risk Data Hub (RDH) for the assessment of disaster risk from multiple hazards across the EU.
Geographic areas
Spatial coverage
| Type | Value |
|---|---|
| GML | <gml:Polygon xmlns:gml="http://www.opengis.net/gml"> <gml:outerBoundaryIs> <gml:LinearRing> <gml:coordinates>-25,71.2 31.6,71.2 31.6,34.5 -25,34.5 -25,71.2</gml:coordinates> </gml:LinearRing> </gml:outerBoundaryIs></gml:Polygon> |
| GML | <gml:Polygon xmlns:gml="http://www.opengis.net/gml/3.2"> <gml:exterior> <gml:LinearRing> <gml:posList>-25 71.2 31.6 71.2 31.6 34.5 -25 34.5 -25 71.2</gml:posList> </gml:LinearRing> </gml:exterior></gml:Polygon> |
| WKT | POLYGON ((-25 71.2, 31.6 71.2, 31.6 34.5, -25 34.5, -25 71.2)) |
Temporal coverage
| From date | To date |
|---|---|
| 2005-01-01 | 2032-12-31 |
Additional information
- Published by
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre
- Created date
- 2025-10-29
- Modified date
- 2025-10-29
- Issued date
- 2025-11-03
- Landing page
- https://drmkc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/risk-data-hub#/vulnerabilityhome
- Data theme(s)
- Environment, Regions and cities
- Update frequency
- annual
- Identifier
- http://data.europa.eu/89h/f161517b-2153-4a8f-b4b0-7834e5bfd5f5
- Popularity
-