A Proposal for Systematisation of Vulnerability Elements and Parameters in Volcanic Risk Assessment

This work is part of the broader context of volcanic risk assessment, focusing on the identification, characterisation, and systematisation of the vulnerability elements and parameters to be considered for its determination. An extensive set of specialised bibliography was analysed to identify and characterise the various volcanic hazards (direct—lava flows, pyroclastic fall, pyroclastic flows and surges, lahars, and volcanic gases; and indirect—earthquakes, ground deformation, landslides, and tsunamis), and also the different elements of vulnerability (people, animals, all types of buildings, infrastructures, cultures, and all other economic activities). The global analysis allowed the identification and systematisation of vulnerability parameters to be built into a table in which general critical values are proposed, which can be used to determine vulnerabilities. Any analysis of this type must also include applying critical values specific to the area under study, considering each volcanic system’s specificity. This methodology was applied to Terceira Island to simulate two basaltic volcanic eruptions.