September Earthquakes Released Energy Equivalent to One Million Tons of Dynamite
Voz de Guanacaste – The 159 earthquakes registered in Costa Rica this past September did not leave any casualties or material damage but unleashed “seismic energy” equivalent to the “explosion of one million tons of dynamite,” reported the National Seismological Network (RSN – Red Sismológica Nacional).
The average daily number of tremors in the past month was 5.2, but Costa Ricans reported feeling only 14 earthquakes in that time.
The strongest movement (with a 5.9 magnitude) was located in the North Pacific, near the border with Nicaragua, and 15 earthquakes were considered “moderate,” or between 4.1 and 5.9 degrees.
The 5.9 magnitue earthquake corresponded with subduction of tectonic plates and has been the strongest felt in Costa Rica so far this year, as the average magnitude of earthquakes in September was 3.4.
Between January and September, 1,080 tremors were recorded in Costa Rica, though none has caused damage.
The RSN added that in Central America last month there were 16 earthquakes of a magnitude greater than or equal to 4.5, and in the world a total of seven events exceeded 6.5.
