Disasters and social vulnerability: the case of the drought in the commune of Tiltil, province of Chacabuco, Metropolitan Region of Santiago, Chile

Abstract

The Problem: In northern Tiltil county, at Metropolitan Region of Santiago, there is a drought of more 10 years ago, affecting the quality of life of its population. In this research the social vulnerability index is applied-SoVI of Cutter (2003), that evaluate the behavior of an affected population by environmental risks. Methodology: it is a multiplicative index between weigths (wi) and social variables (vi) of the model whose ranking value is between 1 and 5. The 75% percent of variables make up the population level of education, psychological stress to wich they are subjected, goverment support and cultural practices of those affected. Results: The stratum most affected by the drought were small farmers with an index value of 4.13 points, classified as very high vulnerability; then, the medium-sized owners with a value of 3.71 or high vulnerability and the large farmers with 2.46 classified as moderate. A separate case is the beneficiaries of water - cistern with a moderate index of 2.43. Conclusions:  there are other variables not considered in this study that affect the problem of drought, such as the financial, environmental, cultural and human capital of the population of Tiltil.