NATURAL SEMANTIC NETWORKS IN THE STUDY OF RISK PERCEPTION IN THE FACE OF VOLCANIC ASH FALL IN TONILA, JALISCO, MEXICO

Abstract

The Colima volcano is one of the most active in Mexico. Near the foothills of this there are several communities from the north of the state of Colima and the south of Jalisco, Mexico that are settled there, which in addition to experiencing volcanic hazards, in particular experience the fall of ash, this not only because of the proximity to the volcanic building, but also by the direction and speed of the winds that occur at the time the volcanic activity. The fall of volcanic ash becomes a social problem, since not only can it cause damage to people's health, but also the effects that they could have on their agricultural activities as well as the damage to animals generate an economic problem for families. In this context, studying the perception of risk in the face of volcanic ash fall is essential, since we must not forget that human beings react to the risks they perceive, and the type of response they give depends on the level of knowledge they have regarding the situation that arises. is being presented to them, as in this case is the fall of volcanic ash. In this sense, the way in which the experts will manage the risk will depend on how the population acts. This article, in addition to the contributions in the understanding of the perception of the risk that the population of Tonila, Jalisco, Mexico has in the face of the fall of volcanic ash, reflects on the methodological usefulness of the research technique named by Valdez (1998) natural semantic networks in this topic.