Estimating exposure around San Miguel Volcano, El Salvador

San Miguel, one of the most active volcanoes in El Salvador, is surrounded by several villages and cantons, which could be seriously affected in case of a new eruption. This study presents an exposure analysis of the San Miguel volcano area by considering population distribution, land use, private h...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Jimenez, Diana, Becerril, Laura, Bartolini, Stefania, Martí Molist, Joan
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/194488
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/194488
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Vulnerability
San Miguel volcano
Hazard assessment
Exposure analysis
Descripción
Sumario:San Miguel, one of the most active volcanoes in El Salvador, is surrounded by several villages and cantons, which could be seriously affected in case of a new eruption. This study presents an exposure analysis of the San Miguel volcano area by considering population distribution, land use, private houses, official buildings (hospitals, schools, etc.), and communication infrastructure. We use spatial analysis Geographic Information System tools to estimate exposure for different volcanic hazards (air fallout, lava flows, pyroclastic density currents, lahars). Moreover, in the particular case of private houses and official buildings, we estimate a Vulnerability Index for the hazardous areas, applying the Physical Vulnerability Methodology based on the characterization of the type of construction materials of walls and roofs. We construct different exposure maps for: 1) population, 2) land use, 3) road networks, 4) schools, and 5) health centers. This approach identifies the elements at risk according to each potential hazard, thus providing the authorities with a comprehensive tool to better understand the problem and to define emergency plans to minimize risk. © 2019 Elsevier B.V.