Assessing Social Vulnerability to Fire Hazards at the Kumasi Central Market, Ghana

Conceptualizing The Nexus Of Social Vulnerability And Fire Hazards

Scholars from different knowledge domains and diverse communities of practice conceptualize vulnerability in very different ways. According to Kasperson & Kaperson (2005), the choice of definition of vulnerability may depend on its suitability for a particular hazard and its interpretation for policy or action. Vulnerability is “the conditions that make an individual or a system susceptible to experience harm as a consequence of an external shock” (Müller et al., 2011). It is also the propensity of exposed elements such as human beings, their livelihoods and assets to suffer adverse effects when impacted by events (Cardona et al., 2012). To understand how vulnerability is generated in the Kumasi Metropolis, the models of Turner et al., (2003) and Birkmann et al., (2013) were adapted and applied (Figure 1).

Figure 1.

Risk-Hazard Model of Vulnerability to Fire Hazards (Source: Adapted from Turner et al. (2003); Birkmann et al. (2013))