Reimagining disaster risk assessment: The role of information equity in vulnerable communities

Disaster risk assessment has traditionally focused on fatalities, economic losses, and physical damage, offering only a partial understanding of how risk is produced and experienced across social groups. This study advances an equity-centered approach by centering informational equity (the distribution of timely, comprehensible, and actionable information) as a critical yet underexamined dimension of disaster vulnerability. Through a multi-method case study of the 2023 Mortegliano hailstorm in Italy, we examined how information circulated across three interconnected communicative arenas: mainstream media, institutional actors, and vulnerable groups. Analysis of 121 media articles revealed that only 39% referenced vulnerable groups, predominantly framing vulnerability in economic terms, while rendering other dimensions invisible. Examination of 160 institutional social media posts showed that only 6.25% addressed vulnerable populations, and 20 interviews with institutional actors confirmed the use of standardized communication and revealed the universal vulnerability paradox . Interviews with 16 vulnerable individuals documented reliance on informal networks to compensate for institutional gaps, with socially isolated individuals experiencing acute informational exclusion. These findings demonstrate that informational inequities emerge from systematic misalignments across the risk communication ecosystem, creating cumulative disadvantages for vulnerable populations. By reframing disaster risk assessment as a communicative process, this study contributes to reconceptualizing risk beyond traditional metrics, positioning information circulation as constitutive of vulnerability and resilience. Practical implications include integrating communicative metrics into emergency planning, institutionalizing accessibility audits, and embedding participatory co-design mechanisms within risk governance structures.