Are Women More Vulnerable to Flooding Than Men in an Aging Japanese Society?

Juan Fan and Guangwei Huang ()
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Juan Fan: Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Sophia University, Tokyo 102-8554, Japan
Guangwei Huang: Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Sophia University, Tokyo 102-8554, Japan

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 2, 1-11

Abstract: It is a well-accepted notion that women are more vulnerable to natural disasters than men, especially in developing countries. However, in developed countries, how women’s empowerment by economic and social development has reduced the gender gap in vulnerability remains insufficiently answered. As Japan passed its golden age, moving into an aging society, a study on how the gender difference in flood vulnerability has evolved can contribute to a better understanding of the types and causes of vulnerability, leading to better flood risk management in a new social context. Following this thinking, the present study conducted a longitudinal analysis using representative flooding cases in Japan over a period of forty years. It found that the women’s fatality rate increased with age much faster than men’s in the 1980s but reversed in a recent major flood disaster. It also revealed that most flood disaster victims were elderly in recent years. These findings suggest that the flood vulnerability at present is more driven by age-related physical ability decline, much less relevant to gender. Based on the results, it proposed a new framework for assessing flood vulnerability in an aging society. Such outcomes can help with the better formulation of flood management policies and probing into solutions.

Keywords: flood vulnerability; aging society; gender; physical ability; evacuation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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