Social vulnerability and climate risk assessment for agricultural communities in the United States

Floods and droughts significantly affect agricultural activities and pose a threat to food security by subsequently reducing agricultural production. The impact of flood events is distributed disproportionately among agricultural communities based on their socio-economic fabric. Understanding climate-related hazards is critical for planning mitigation measures to secure vulnerable communities. This study introduces a holistic approach for evaluating the combined risks associated with drought and flood hazards for agricultural communities in the United States. It accomplishes this by merging social vulnerability indicators with data on drought and flood exposure, enabling the identification of the most susceptible agricultural communities. The research seeks to offer valuable insights into the vulnerability of agricultural communities across the United States. It fills a vital research gap by conducting a comprehensive nationwide assessment of social vulnerability, considering expected annual losses related to both flood and drought hazards, and amalgamating social vulnerability with these expected annual losses. The analyses were conducted by adapting datasets and methodologies that are developed by federal institutions such as FEMA, USACE, and USDA. The study identified the 30 most socially vulnerable counties and assessed their exposure to drought and flooding, finding that Mendocino, Sonoma, Humboldt, El Dorado, Fresno, and Kern counties in California had the highest drought exposure and expected annual losses, with Humboldt (CA) and Montgomery (TX) having the highest combined risk. The study estimated over $1 billion in crop damage, with California experiencing the greatest losses, primarily affecting a diverse range of crops, while the Midwest was primarily impacted in terms of major crop types. The findings of this study can serve as supportive information for policymakers to better understand climate risks in agricultural communities and identify where risk mitigation activities should be allocated.