Steve Stolz said that vulnerable populations are both rich and poor. His answer was that for these individuals developers often buy cheap land, build the homes, and then quickly move on. Stolz says there is a need to develop coalitions to define and examine vulnerability. Then vulnerable populations should be approached with clear definitions and goals for mitigation. He also called for establishing better communications, building partnerships, educating more of the population, and delivering consistent messages.
Disaster strikes everyone and everyone is vulnerable in their own way.
During the discussion, audience members asked more than once for a definition of vulnerability. One person commented that if each person in the room replied, there would be as many answers as people. One answer was to involve the community, use key informants, develop outreach programs, and conduct pre-disaster identification. It was suggested that these important topics need their own sessions in order to give them the detailed attention they deserve. In sum, to deal with factors that influence disaster losses there is a need for good research and interventions, social support and networking on the communal level, clear messages, partnership development, and an encompassing definition of vulnerability.