â The concept of vulnerability expresses the multidimensionality of disasters by focusing attention on the totality of relationships in a given social situation which constitute a condition that , in combination with environmental forces , produces a disasterâ ( Bankoff et al . 2004 : 11 ) . â The concept of vulnerability expresses the multidimensionality of disasters by focusing attention on the totality of relationships in a given social situation which constitute a condition that , in combination with environmental forces , produces a disasterâ .