Perceptions of Disaster-Borne Inequality by Social Class and Their Implications for Policy

Abstract

If an official disaster response is unaccompanied by policy measures to promote equity between social groups, the social inequalities that arise during the disaster may get worse after it is over. A survey of the perceptions of different social groups about disaster inequality found that people from lower social groups are more vulnerable to disasters and that the government’s disaster recovery support does not suffice for mitigating the vulnerabilities individuals have to disasters. The wide variation that emerged across different social groups in perceptions of disaster-borne inequalities may be attributed to how disasters can compound existing structural inequalities. This suggests the need for targeted assistance measures aimed at helping different social groups strengthen their resilience to disasters.