Examining Rural–Urban Vulnerability Inequality in Extreme Weather-Related Power Outages: Case of Tropical Storm Isaias

Abstract

Given the unequal impact of severe weather-related power outages on people and the built environment, assessing vulnerability to natural hazards becomes central to hazard risk reduction. This paper presents an analytical framework that examines spatial vulnerability disparities between rural and urban settings during extreme weather-related power outage events. It evaluates the impact distribution and response through three spatiotemporal patterns: trouble spots, impacted population, and recovery time. Social vulnerability indices are produced for rural and urban settings using principal component analysis, followed by nonparametric correlation analysis to explore relationships between vulnerability components and power outage damage indicators. The framework is applied to 169 towns in Connecticut to quantify and assess population and built environment vulnerability following tropical storm Isaias. Despite fewer trouble spots and affected customers in absolute numbers, findings indicate that rural communities experienced prolonged recovery times, affecting around 60% of the rural population compared to 33% of their urban counterparts. Moreover, rural poverty emerged as a significant vulnerability factor, while urban areas displayed complex factors including race, socioeconomic status, wealth, and age dependency, all correlated with power outage impacts. The proposed framework offers insight into rural–urban vulnerability and supports equitable policymaking during power outages.