InTeGrate Modules and Courses >Coastal Processes, Hazards and Society > Student Materials > Module 10: Understanding and assessing coastal vulnerabilities > Dimension 1: Exposure > Exposure Summary
InTeGrate's Earth-focused Modules and Courses for the Undergraduate Classroom
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These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
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For the Instructor

These student materials complement the Coastal Processes, Hazards and Society Instructor Materials. If you would like your students to have access to the student materials, we suggest you either point them at the Student Version which omits the framing pages with information designed for faculty (and this box). Or you can download these pages in several formats that you can include in your course website or local Learning Managment System. Learn more about using, modifying, and sharing InTeGrate teaching materials.

Exposure Summary

The maps on the previous page show how the severity of Hurricane Sandy's impacts on the East Coast of the United States were a product of regional differences in not only the intensity of its wind, surge, rain, and snow, but also in the distribution of people and property. One of the main reasons that Hurricane Sandy was so destructive was that it made landfall in a densely populated and developed region, exposing many people and the things they value to damaging wind and water. However, this is only part of the story. As the following sections on sensitivity and adaptive capacity will explain, other characteristics of the people who lived in Sandy's path – including their demographics and their capacity to plan, prepare, and rebuild – also played an important role in shaping their vulnerability.


These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
Explore the Collection »