Abstract
The magnitude M = 7.4 earthquake of April 22, 1991 occurred in a comparatively lightly inhabited region of Costa Rica. Despite dramatic geomorphological effects, including extensive landslides in the mountainous epicentral region, and uplift of the East Coastline by up to 1.5m, structural damage was comparatively light. A number of warehouses, and reinforced concrete buildings in or near the Port of Lim6n collapsed or were badly damaged, and a considerable number of houses supported on tall wooden piles failed. Of greatest interest was the failure of a number of modem highway bridges, due primarily to liquefaction of foundations, or excessive movement of soft soil layers in embankments.
Highlights
Costa Rica is located in the isthmus between Central and South America, in a region of moderately active seismicity, caused primarily by tectonic action involving subduction of the Cocos Plate to the west of Costa Rica under the Caribbean Plate which contains all of Costs Rica
Further secondary earthquakes occur along the volcanic arc of mountains that form the North-South spine of the country
The most structurally significant damage caused by the Costa Rican earthquake of April 22 was the extensive damage to bridges, primarily resulting from gross soil deformations [slumping and liquefaction]
Summary
The magnitude M = 7.4 earthquake of April 22, 1991 occurred in a comparatively lightly inhabited region of Costa Rica. Despite dramatic geomorphological effects, including extensive landslides in the mountainous epicentral region, and uplift of the East Coastline by up to 1.5m, structural damage was comparatively light. A number of warehouses, and reinforced concrete buildings in or near the Port of Lim6n collapsed or were badly damaged, and a considerable number of houses supported on tall wooden piles failed. Of greatest interest was the failure of a number of modem highway bridges, due primarily to liquefaction of foundations, or excessive movement of soft soil layers in embankments
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Schedule a callMore From: Bulletin of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering
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