Vulnerabilidad ante inundación por tsunami en la comuna de Coronel. Región del Biobío.
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Date
2025
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Universidad de Concepción
Abstract
Chile es uno de los países más sísmicos del mundo (Leyton et al., 2010), debido a su particular ubicación en el margen convergente entre las placas de Nazca y Sudamericana, lo que genera terremotos y tsunamis como procesos recurrentes de alto interés para la gestión del riesgo de desastres. Un ejemplo de ello fue el terremoto del 27 de febrero de 2010, que provocó severos daños en el borde costero de la Región del Biobío. Según datos del Ministerio de Vivienda y Urbanismo, se registraron 106.587 viviendas con algún grado de daño, lo que representó el 48,4 % del total nacional. En la comuna de Coronel, los impactos se concentraron principalmente en la infraestructura portuaria; González (2015) reporta daños en ocho muelles de la bahía, incluyendo el sector del puerto y el muelle pesquero de Caleta Lo Rojas. No obstante, debido a la dirección y altura aproximada de 2 metros de las olas, el tsunami no amplificó significativamente los daños generados por el sismo.
Considerando este antecedente y la permanente exposición costera de la comuna, el presente estudio evaluó la vulnerabilidad de Coronel frente a un escenario potencial de tsunami de mayor magnitud, utilizando el método de indicadores propuesto por Vera y Albarracín (2017) y las zonas de amenaza definidas por el SHOA. Los resultados evidencian que el 31 % de la superficie de los distritos censales analizados se encuentra bajo amenaza de inundación, afectando de manera significativa a la infraestructura crítica, los sistemas productivos, los ecosistemas y la población. Destaca especialmente la alta vulnerabilidad por exposición de la infraestructura crítica (3,2) y de los sistemas de producción (3,4), así como la alta vulnerabilidad por fragilidad socioeconómica (3,4) y fragilidad física (3,7), asociada principalmente a la materialidad de las viviendas y a condiciones sociales estructurales.
En cuanto a la capacidad de adaptación y respuesta, la evaluación de la gobernanza local y de los instrumentos de planificación territorial mostró un nivel medio de implementación, con brechas relevantes en la integración efectiva de la gestión del riesgo en el PLADECO y en la ausencia de un Plan Comunal de Gestión del Riesgo de Desastres plenamente operativo. En conjunto, la integración de los componentes de exposición, fragilidad y capacidad de adaptación permitió determinar que la vulnerabilidad global de la comuna de Coronel frente a un tsunami es alta (3,3).
Estos resultados evidencian la urgente necesidad de fortalecer la incorporación de la gestión del riesgo en los instrumentos de planificación territorial, en la infraestructura crítica y en la planificación del desarrollo comunal, así como de avanzar en estudios de mayor resolución espacial que permitan identificar con precisión los focos críticos de vulnerabilidad. En este sentido, la información generada constituye un aporte relevante para la toma de decisiones en ordenamiento territorial, reducción del riesgo de desastres y aumento de la resiliencia costera en la comuna de Coronel.
Chile is one of the most seismically active countries in the world (Leyton et al., 2010), due to its particular location along the convergent margin between the Nazca and South American plates, which generates recurrent earthquakes and tsunamis of major relevance for disaster risk management. A clear example of this was the earthquake of February 27, 2010, which caused severe damage along the coastal zone of the Biobío Region. According to data from the Ministry of Housing and Urbanism, 106,587 dwellings were reported with some degree of damage, representing 48.4% of the national total. In the commune of Coronel, the impacts were mainly concentrated on port infrastructure; González (2015) reported damage to eight piers in the Bay of Coronel, including the main port and the fishing pier of Caleta Lo Rojas. However, due to the direction and approximate height of the waves (about 2 m), the tsunami did not significantly amplify the damage caused by the earthquake. Considering this background and the permanent coastal exposure of the commune, this study assessed the vulnerability of Coronel to a potential higher-magnitude tsunami scenario, using the indicator-based method proposed by Vera and Albarracín (2017) and the tsunami hazard zones defined by SHOA. The results show that 31% of the surface area of the analyzed census districts lies under tsunami inundation threat, significantly affecting critical infrastructure, production systems, ecosystems, and the population. Particularly notable are the high exposure-related vulnerability of critical infrastructure (3.2) and production systems (3.4), as well as the high vulnerability associated with socioeconomic fragility (3.4) and physical fragility (3.7), mainly linked to housing construction materials and structural social conditions. Regarding adaptive capacity and response, the assessment of local governance and territorial planning instruments revealed a medium level of implementation, with significant gaps in the effective integration of risk management into the PLADECO and in the absence of a operational Communal Disaster Risk Management Plan. Overall, the integration of exposure, fragility, and adaptive capacity components allowed determination of a high level of global vulnerability to tsunamis in the commune of Coronel (3.3). These findings highlight the urgent need to strengthen the incorporation of disaster risk management into territorial planning instruments, critical infrastructure, and local development planning, as well as to advance toward higher spatial-resolution studies that enable precise identification of critical vulnerability hotspots. In this sense, the information generated represents a relevant contribution to territorial planning, disaster risk reduction, and the strengthening of coastal resilience in the commune of Coronel.
Chile is one of the most seismically active countries in the world (Leyton et al., 2010), due to its particular location along the convergent margin between the Nazca and South American plates, which generates recurrent earthquakes and tsunamis of major relevance for disaster risk management. A clear example of this was the earthquake of February 27, 2010, which caused severe damage along the coastal zone of the Biobío Region. According to data from the Ministry of Housing and Urbanism, 106,587 dwellings were reported with some degree of damage, representing 48.4% of the national total. In the commune of Coronel, the impacts were mainly concentrated on port infrastructure; González (2015) reported damage to eight piers in the Bay of Coronel, including the main port and the fishing pier of Caleta Lo Rojas. However, due to the direction and approximate height of the waves (about 2 m), the tsunami did not significantly amplify the damage caused by the earthquake. Considering this background and the permanent coastal exposure of the commune, this study assessed the vulnerability of Coronel to a potential higher-magnitude tsunami scenario, using the indicator-based method proposed by Vera and Albarracín (2017) and the tsunami hazard zones defined by SHOA. The results show that 31% of the surface area of the analyzed census districts lies under tsunami inundation threat, significantly affecting critical infrastructure, production systems, ecosystems, and the population. Particularly notable are the high exposure-related vulnerability of critical infrastructure (3.2) and production systems (3.4), as well as the high vulnerability associated with socioeconomic fragility (3.4) and physical fragility (3.7), mainly linked to housing construction materials and structural social conditions. Regarding adaptive capacity and response, the assessment of local governance and territorial planning instruments revealed a medium level of implementation, with significant gaps in the effective integration of risk management into the PLADECO and in the absence of a operational Communal Disaster Risk Management Plan. Overall, the integration of exposure, fragility, and adaptive capacity components allowed determination of a high level of global vulnerability to tsunamis in the commune of Coronel (3.3). These findings highlight the urgent need to strengthen the incorporation of disaster risk management into territorial planning instruments, critical infrastructure, and local development planning, as well as to advance toward higher spatial-resolution studies that enable precise identification of critical vulnerability hotspots. In this sense, the information generated represents a relevant contribution to territorial planning, disaster risk reduction, and the strengthening of coastal resilience in the commune of Coronel.
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Tesis presentada para optar al título de Geógrafo/a.
Keywords
Maremotos, Desastres naturales, Administración de riesgo