Community Perception and Communication of Volcanic Risk from the Cotopaxi Volcano in Latacunga, Ecuador

Gomez-Zapata, Juan Camilo; Parrado, Cristhian; Frimberger, Theresa; Barragán-Ochoa, Fernando; Brill, Fabio; Büche, Kerstin; Krautblatter, Michael; Langbein, Michael; Pittore, Massimiliano; Rosero-Velásquez, Hugo; Schoepfer, Elisabeth; Spahn, Harald; Zapata-Tapia, Camilo

doi:10.3390/su13041714

Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Edit a Special Issue

Article Menu

Printed Edition

A printed edition of this Special Issue is available at MDPI Books....

...

Open AccessArticle

Community Perception and Communication of Volcanic Risk from the Cotopaxi Volcano in Latacunga, Ecuador

Juan Camilo Gomez-Zapata

^1,2,*

Cristhian Parrado

Theresa Frimberger

⁴,

Fernando Barragán-Ochoa

^5,6,

^7,8

⁹,

⁴,

¹⁰

^1,11

Hugo Rosero-Velásquez

¹²,

Elisabeth Schoepfer

¹⁰,

Harald Spahn

¹³ and

Camilo Zapata-Tapia

^14,15

Seismic Hazard and Risk Dynamics, Helmholtz Centre Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, 14473 Potsdam, Germany

Institute for Geosciences, University of Potsdam, 14469 Potsdam, Germany

Grupo FARO, Quito 170518, Ecuador

⁴

Landslide Research Group, Technical University of Munich, 80333 Munich, Germany

⁵

Asociación de Profesionales de Gestión de Riesgos de Ecuador, Quito 170519, Ecuador

⁶

Instituto de Altos Estudios Nacionales, Quito 170135, Ecuador

⁷

Hydrology, Helmholtz Centre Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, 14473 Potsdam, Germany

⁸

Institute for Environmental Science and Geography, University of Potsdam, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany

⁹

Geomer GmbH, 69126 Heidelberg, Germany

¹⁰

German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD), German Aerospace Center (DLR), 82234 Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany

¹¹

EURAC Research, 39100 Bolzano, Italy

¹²

Engineering Risk Analysis Group, Technical University of Munich, 80333 Munich, Germany

¹³

Independent Consultant, 26689 Apen, Germany

¹⁴

College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito 170901, Ecuador

¹⁵

GADPC, Gobierno Autónomo Descentralizado Provincial de Cotopaxi, Latacunga 050101, Ecuador

Show full affiliation list

Hide full affiliation list

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Academic Editor: Maurizio Tiepolo

Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 1714; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041714

Received: 31 December 2020 / Revised: 29 January 2021 / Accepted: 1 February 2021 / Published: 5 February 2021

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Risk-Informed Sustainable Development in the Rural Tropics)

View Full-Text Download PDF

Browse Figures

Citation Export

Abstract

The inhabitants of Latacunga living in the surrounding of the Cotopaxi volcano (Ecuador) are exposed to several hazards and related disasters. After the last 2015 volcanic eruption, it became evident once again how important it is for the exposed population to understand their own social, physical, and systemic vulnerability. Effective risk communication is essential before the occurrence of a volcanic crisis. This study integrates quantitative risk and semi-quantitative social risk perceptions, aiming for risk-informed communities. We present the use of the RIESGOS demonstrator for interactive exploration and visualisation of risk scenarios. The development of this demonstrator through an iterative process with the local experts and potential end-users increases both the quality of the technical tool as well as its practical applicability. Moreover, the community risk perception in a focused area was investigated through online and field surveys. Geo-located interviews are used to map the social perception of volcanic risk factors. Scenario-based outcomes from quantitative risk assessment obtained by the RIESGOS demonstrator are compared with the semi-quantitative risk perceptions. We have found that further efforts are required to provide the exposed communities with a better understanding of the concepts of hazard scenario and intensity. View Full-Text

Keywords: risk communication; volcanic hazards; social risk perception; resilience; demonstrator; scenario; multi-risk analysis

▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Gomez-Zapata, J.C.; Parrado, C.; Frimberger, T.; Barragán-Ochoa, F.; Brill, F.; Büche, K.; Krautblatter, M.; Langbein, M.; Pittore, M.; Rosero-Velásquez, H.; Schoepfer, E.; Spahn, H.; Zapata-Tapia, C. Community Perception and Communication of Volcanic Risk from the Cotopaxi Volcano in Latacunga, Ecuador. Sustainability 2021, 13, 1714. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041714

AMA Style

Gomez-Zapata JC, Parrado C, Frimberger T, Barragán-Ochoa F, Brill F, Büche K, Krautblatter M, Langbein M, Pittore M, Rosero-Velásquez H, Schoepfer E, Spahn H, Zapata-Tapia C. Community Perception and Communication of Volcanic Risk from the Cotopaxi Volcano in Latacunga, Ecuador. Sustainability. 2021; 13(4):1714. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041714

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gomez-Zapata, Juan C., Cristhian Parrado, Theresa Frimberger, Fernando Barragán-Ochoa, Fabio Brill, Kerstin Büche, Michael Krautblatter, Michael Langbein, Massimiliano Pittore, Hugo Rosero-Velásquez, Elisabeth Schoepfer, Harald Spahn, and Camilo Zapata-Tapia. 2021. "Community Perception and Communication of Volcanic Risk from the Cotopaxi Volcano in Latacunga, Ecuador" Sustainability 13, no. 4: 1714. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041714

Find Other Styles

Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Abstract views Pdf views Html views

Article Menu

Printed Edition

Community Perception and Communication of Volcanic Risk from the Cotopaxi Volcano in Latacunga, Ecuador

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Article Access Map by Country/Region

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI