QCOSTARICA – Red Sismológica Nacional (RSN) de la Universidad de Costa Rica – National Seismological Network, says it has detected the highest seismic swarm occurring in the capital city since 1990.
The RSN says it has detected 27 earthquakes with magnitudes not exceeding 3.3 during April and May, originating in local faults between Cuidad Colon, Santa Ana and Escazu.
Most of the tremors were not felt by the population, but because they occurred in very populated areas, experts have raised the alert.
According to Lépolt Linkimer, director of the RSN, the swarm reveals that faults near San Jose, like Salitral (Santa Ana) or Escazu, are still active.
Although, historically, these faults have not caused earthquakes of great magnitude, they might produce tremors of up to a 5 magnitude and cause significant damage.
Earthquakes cannot be predicted. Linkimer explains that if a strong quake with an epicetnre near populated areas, the reaction time to evacuate buildings will be a few seconds.
Source: La Nacion