QCOSTARICA — Popular belief and academia continue to clash over whether Semana Santa (Holy Week) is synonymous with earthquakes.
But with data the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (Ovsicori) tries to convince that there is more belief than science behind such perception.
The recently passed Holy Week was taken as a basis.
Although on Saturday, March 30, a 4.5 magnitude earthquake occurred in the Los Santos area, that was perceived throughout the Central Valley, many emphasized that it is a normal activity, even likening it to Holy Week in previous years.
Ovsicori, however, reports that this period had among the fewest noticeable tremors.
“Red Car Theory”
How many red cars did you see?
The ‘Red Car Theory’ is a metaphor.
As the connection between dates and earthquakes is still uncertain, the Ovsicori explained the concept using the “red car theory.”
“When we think about buying a red car, suddenly we began to notice red cars everywhere. Although they have always been there. The same thing happens with earthquakes: they have always been and will always be in our country,” the Oviscori explained.
“Although in Costa Rica there are on average 30 earthquakes a day with a magnitude range between 0 and 4.5 … Holy Week ‘accentuates’ the perception that it is shaking more simply due to the fact that we are more aware of this,” it added.
Ovsicori also indicated that there is no link between other factors such as the heat prevalent in the country these past few weeks to explain seismicity.
The idea of earthquakes on religious dates is particularly fueled by events such as the 7.1 magnitude Golfito (Puntarenas) earthquake recorded on Holy Saturday, April 2, 1983, 41 years ago.
That quake occurred at 8:50 pm, caused by an interaction of the Coco and Caribe tectonic plates.
Despite its intensity, the earthquake left only one official dead. Of course, the damage and social repercussions were significant.
The official report reports that near the epicenter bridges were damaged, houses were destroyed and in Ciudad Cortés the mayor’s office building collapsed.
In the Central Valley, for its part, the Mercalli Scale which measures the effects (observable damage) of an earthquake at a given location, in contrast with the seismic magnitude usually reported for an earthquake, measured the intensity of the earthquake between VI (6) and VII (7).
As the intensity level rises, the amount of damage increases considerably. Intensity X (10) is the highest value on the Mercalli Scale.
In addition to the intensity, the earthquake marked the history of the country because it coincided with the date of Holy Saturday.
From this, speculations still linger without definitive answers.
