Two strong earthquakes on both coasts were felt throughout the country

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

National Volcanic and Seismological Observatory reported in 6 hours, two strong earthquakes with epicenters near both coasts of the country.

The first happened at 10:58 p.m. on Tuesday. It was a magnitude 5.5 on the Richter scale, with a depth of 10 km, and an epicenter at 6.9 km northwest of Cahuita* town in the province of Limón on the Caribbean Coast.

The second happened on Wednesday, at 5:23 a.m. It was a magnitude 5.2 (after a review form a first data of 4.9 mag.), with a depth of 34 km, at 20 km south of Quepos* town in the province of Puntarenas, on the Pacific Coast.

After these two quakes, on Wednesday a chain of tremors of lesser magnitude was reported by specialists as big enough to been felt by the population.

At 7:20 a.m. a magnitude 2.9  with a depth of 71 km, at 4 km west of Santa Maria de Dota* in the province of Cartago.

At 8:11 a.m. a magnitude 2.9 with a depth of 23 km, at 14 km east of Pittier town,  in Coto Brus*, in the southern zone of the country.

At 5:42 p.m. a  magnitude 3.0, with a depth of 4 km, in the northwest of Toro Amarillo River in Valverde Vega* town, in the province of Alajuela.

Some social media users reported feeling a strong shake during the big quakes on Tuesday but there were no reports of damage or casualties.

The Red Cross reported no injured persons or damaged infrastructure.

According to Observatory reports, the earthquakes and the subsequent aftershocks were caused by the subduction of the Coco plate under the Caribbean plate.

Both plates are one of the most active areas of the country. Historically, earthquakes of magnitudes 7.0 have been generated, such as the Cobano town* earthquake of March 25, 1990.

According to Observatory, one of the strongest earthquake registered in the country's history was in 1950, magnitude 7.7, on the Nicoya Peninsula.

The Cocos Plate is a young oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Central America, named for the Costa Rican Cocos Island, which rides upon it.

The Caribbean Plate is a mostly oceanic tectonic plate underlying Central America and the Caribbean Sea off the north coast of South America.

On June 25th, an earthquake happened at 11:23 p.m., with a magnitude of 6.5, the epicenter was 5 km SE of Gariche in Puerto Armuelles* in Panama, at a depth of 26.2 km.

More than 290 aftershocks were detected, in 24 hours after the big one, with magnitudes from 5.1 to 3.9.

On August 19th,  National Emergency Commission held the first national earthquake evacuation drill, as was reported by A.M. Costa Rica.
 
The drill is a practical exercise where an emergency or earthquake disaster will be represented as close to what it would be like in reality. It tests the ability of authorities and the general public to react to evacuate to a safe place.

The city of San José is one of the most critical places to evaluate in the simulation, since it is the most important urban center of the country, with the majority of the population, commercial buildings, and public institutions residing there.
 
In the drill, the Commission processed the prevention plans, the quality of construction, the response of the work centers or facilities and the population to seismic events.

 


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Where would you go if there was a strong earthquake? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com

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