Augmenting the Social Vulnerability Index using an agent-based simulation of Hurricane Harvey

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Anna E. Brower, Balaji Ramesh, Kazi Ashik Islam, Henning S. Mortveit, Stefan Hoops, Anil Vullikanti, Madhav V. Marathe, Benjamin F. Zaitchik, Julia M. Gohlke, Samarth Swarup

Published: 2023, Last Modified: 21 Jan 2026Comput. Environ. Urban Syst. 2023EveryoneRevisionsBibTeXCC BY-SA 4.0
Abstract: Highlights•The CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index is widely used for disaster planning.•An agent-based model of Hurricane Harvey is developed to augment the SVI.•The model is validated by showing it improves predictions of Emergency Department visits.•A flooding exposure measure computed from the model is used to augment the SVI.