Some aspects of the seismic hazard in Panama City

Abstract

The definition of earthquake sources in the Panama region on the basis of both tectonics and average seismicity rates, have recently led to the concept of a microplate surrounded by seismically active areas. The effects of these earthquakes on the place where the most important concentration of investments and population is located, the capital city of Panama, are analyzed in this paper using statistical approaches. The parameters of Gumbel's Type-I distribution of extreme values for a continuous interval of 60 yr annual maximum magnitudes were used to make probabilistic estimations of the seismic hazard in Panama City. An earthquake with magnitude 7.5 is capable of producing a modified Mercalli intensity VII in Panama City, provided the source distance is of the order of 100 km. This earthquake has a probability of occurrence of 69% in 50 yr.