InTeGrate Modules and Courses >Coastal Processes, Hazards and Society > Student Materials > Assessments > University Park: Blended > Part 2
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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Part 2

Now that you have assigned each of the components to the appropriate dimension, we will use measures of these components to evaluate and compare the vulnerability of coastal residents in three U.S. counties to hurricane wind and storm surge.

The three counties you will be studying in this activity are Galveston County, Texas; St. Johns County, Florida; and Hudson County, New Jersey. These counties are all exposed to hurricane hazards, however their vulnerability differs in important ways. Over the course of this activity, you will learn how to measure many of the components of vulnerability in these places, and how to compare vulnerability across places and dimensions.

Use the table in the worksheet to record the vulnerability measures for each county. Detailed instructions for how to find each measure are given below the answer sheet.

Vulnerability Measures For Each County
DimensionExposure
ComponentsCoastal LandscapeHazard FrequencyHazard IntensityNumber of People in Hazard Zone
MeasuresElevation at center of most important urban area (nearest m)Elevation of high point along transect from urban center to coast (nearest m)High point closer to urban center or to coast?Description of transect(for example, "large hill near the coast, flat near urban center")Number of hurricane strikes since 1900Percentage of these strikes with category >=32010 county population
Galveston County, Texas (Urban area: Galveston)
Hudson County, New Jersey (Urban area: Jersey City)
St. Johns County, Florida (Urban area: St. Augustine)

Instructions for Exposure

Please click on the PDF file to view the instructions for completing the table above (Acrobat (PDF) 19MB Sep7 16).

You will need to have Google Earth open.

Sensitivity Measures For Each County
DimensionSensitivity
ComponentsPopulation AgeMinority PopulationsPoverty
Measures% Elderly Population (65+)% Child Population (U-18)% Black% Hispanic% in Poverty
Galveston County (Texas)
Hudson County (New Jersey)
St. Johns County (Florida)

Instructions for Sensitivity

Please click on the PDF file to view the instructions for completing the table above (Acrobat (PDF) 45kB Sep7 16).

You will need to have Google Earth open.

Adaptive Capacity Measures For Each County
DimensionAdaptive Capacity
ComponentsEducational attainmentVehicle availabilityHousehold Income
Measures% of people who have high school degrees or higher% of households which owns vehicles (100% - no vehicles)Median household incomes (US Dollars)
Galveston County (Texas)
Hudson County (New Jersey)
St. Johns County (Florida)

Instructions for Adaptive Capacity

Please click on the PDF file to view the instructions for completing the table above (Acrobat (PDF) 865kB Sep7 16).

You will need to have Google Earth open.

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 »