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London borough takes the lead in vulnerability mapping

Local government: Emergency response

London borough takes the lead in vulnerability mapping
 Analysts, researchers and others have commented on the usefulness of vulnerability maps to identify and care for vulnerable people in an emergency and have suggested that this is the most advanced stage of emergency planning.
Cabinet Office – Identifying People Who Are Vulnerable In A Crisis (February 2008)

At a glance

London Borough of HounslowVulnerability maps are being created by a west London borough to help protect the residents in the case of an emergency.

Printable version: download PDFVisit the London Borough of Hounslow website

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Hounslow felt there was a need to establish a range of vulnerability maps to better enable planning and preparation in the event of an emergency. Geographic information (GI) from Ordnance Survey was the ideal solution.

Initially, the team at Hounslow placed vulnerability into a number of categories, such as social vulnerability, which included single parent households, and health vulnerability such as the elderly or infirm.

Once these categories had been established they could be ‘plotted’ against a number of previously identified potential local or national potential hazards, such as pandemics, fire hazards, pipelines or flooding. A series of maps were then produced using GI supplied under the Public Sector Mapping Agreement (PSMA), data from the Council itself and information from third parties such as the Office for National Statistics.

Purple map showing cumulative vulnerability ranked using Economic, Social and Health vulnerability indicators. Darker areas = greater vulnerabilityMap showing risks and hazards identified in the West London Community Risk Register affecting the London Borough of Hounslow. Darker areas = greater risk

By displaying the community risk register in a visual format, it has enabled the Council to have a greater understanding of the risk faced across the borough, specifically including hazard zones from sites located outside its boundaries. The maps have also been invaluable in promoting community resilience, both to members of the public and to local businesses, as it has allowed the community to visualise the risks that may affect them.

The vulnerability maps directly correlated with the distribution of pandemic flu cases in the borough during the swine flu pandemic in 2009. The areas with the highest concentration of vulnerable people corresponded with the highest concentration of swine flu cases, and thus provided a good basis on which the Council could act.

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