MAGNITUDE 7.6 EARTHQUAKE OCCURS OFFSHORE COSTA RICA September 5, 2012

MAGNITUDE 7.6 EARTHQUAKE OCCURS OFFSHORE COSTA RICA

September 5, 2012

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, University

of North Carolina, USA

CAUSE: INTERACTION OF THE COCOS, CARIBBEAN, AND SOUTH

AMERICAN PLATES

The strong quake, which occurred at 10:42 a.m. EDT,

was centered under the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa

Rica, 140 km (87 miles) west of the capital, San Jose

Seismologists have been predicting a strong quake in

that area for years

GOOD NEWS—BAD NEWS ABOUT THE LOCATION

• GOOD NEWS: The earthquake was deep [41 km, 25 mi].

• BAD NEWS: The epicenter was 10km (6mi) northeast of Hojancha, Costa Rica and 140km (87mi) west of the capital city, San Jose

MORE GOOD NEWS: NO TSUNAMI

• A tsunami warning was issued immediately for the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Columbia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Peru, and lifted after a few hours.

THE BEST NEWS

• Damage, mortality, and morbidity were surprisingly light for two reasons: 1) the deep focal depth, and 2) the implementation of a modern building code with seismic provisions.

SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS

• Costa Rica's National Emergency Commission reported debris on roads, power outages and some structural damage in homes, especially on the Nicoya Peninsula

SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS (continued)

• Only one person died (a heart attack).

• Red Cross ambulances evacuated patients from two damaged hospitals.

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