Seismic Risk through Social Vulnerability: A Methodological Proposal for the Evaluation of the Seismic Vulnerability on the Coast of Alicante, Spain

Abstract

The province of Alicante (Spain), especially the southern part, is one of the regions with the highest seismic risk in the peninsular territory. The interaction between the high seismic danger and the social vulnerability that characterizes the coast of the province of Alicante implies a significant level of risk. Based on this, this paper criticizes the lack of analytical depth in the field of seismology and seismic risk planning to analyze and evaluate the seismic vulnerability that characterizes a population. In particular, a total lack of social factor has been verified in the evaluation of the seismic vulnerability, as well as an absesnce of a procedural perspective in the construction of the risk. However, an excessively technical seismic risk management has been found, exclusively based on the analysis of the architectural resistance of the buildings. This paper argues the need to rethink the concept of seismic risk in depth, in order to understand it as a socially constructed process. In addition, a specific methodological proposal is made to analyze and evaluate the seismic vulnerability of the municipalities of the Alicante coast in an integrated way. This area is exposed to social and economic phenomena that make them especially sensitive to the effects of seismic movements. In short, this paper claims the need to dispute the hegemony of the technocratic paradigm that dominates the analysis and planning of seismic risk in order to move towards a more integrated and multidisciplinary approach that allows to increase the seismic-social resilience of society and territory.