Introducing a temporal component in spatial vulnerability analysis

This paper focuses on temporal aspects of disaster risk management including mapping shortterm and long-term variability in spatio-temporal vulnerability patterns. Various concepts considering the temporal component of vulnerability are illustrated on the basis of case study applications including modeling population exposure to earthquake hazard in the daily cycle (nighttime vs. daytime) and analyzing land use change induced long-term variation in social vulnerability with regard to riverine flood risk. The concept of vulnerability itself introduces a significant temporal aspect into integrated disaster management. Disparities in the socio-economic structure of a society shape social vulnerability and coping capacity of local comm.- unities and result in uneven impact of a catastrophic event. Particular aspects of social vulnerability such as varying patterns of health vulnerability, result in spatial variation in the speed of recovery with the most socially vulnerable being the slowest.