findSVI: an R package to calculate the Social Vulnerability Index at multiple geographical levels

The Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) was created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (CDC/ATSDR) as a tool to assess the resilience of communities in preparation for public health crisis (Flanagan et al., 2011).In the event of public health emergencies, communities with higher SVI are considered more vulnerable, i.e., more likely to suffer serious consequences such as mortality/physical injuries, displacement and economic loss.The Geospatial Research, Analysis, and Services Program (GRASP) maintains the SVI database and updates the SVI every two years.