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Central
America Unites Against Earthquakes
Jorge
Alberto Grochembake*
GUATEMALA CITY, (Tierramérica) -
Experts in Central America are
conducting joint seismology studies
and are working together on programmes
to mitigate the impacts of
earthquakes, which have caused
thousands of deaths and millions of
dollars in material losses in the
region over recent decades.
This regional integration of experts
received a boost with the signing this
year of an agreement between the
Seismology Centre of Central America (CSAC),
founded in 1998 and based in Costa
Rica, and the independent Norwegian
foundation, NORSAR, which runs some of
the world's leading seismology
observatories.
”We are consolidating our work in
the region. The agreement with NORSAR
allows us to reinforce research and
training efforts, focused mostly on
studying the areas of greatest
vulnerability to earthquakes,” CSAC
director Mario Fernández told Tierramérica.
”Because earthquakes are impossible
to predict, it is necessary to be
prepared at every moment, and Central
American integration in this field is
setting an example for the entire
continent,” he said.
A couple decades ago, experts began to
keep a historic record of the region's
earthquakes and later to exchange
information and cooperate in efforts
to reduce quake-related damages.
CSAC works closely with the
Coordination Centre for Natural
Disaster Prevention in Central
America, founded in 1991 with support
from the Norwegian government.
”Investment pays. Better seismic
monitoring allows better prevention
and mitigation” of damages caused by
earthquakes, Alejandro Maldonado,
president of the Centre, told Tierramérica.
The Centre's work has strengthened the
regional networks for monitoring
seismic activity and has improved
training through postgraduate
scholarships for Central American
experts, explains Juan Pablo Ligorria,
deputy secretary in Guatemala for
natural disaster reduction.
Central America was hit by devastating
earthquakes in the 20th century: Costa
Rica in 1910 and 1989, Managua in
1972, Guatemala in 1976, and El
Salvador in 1986 and twice in one week
in 2001.
These destructive natural phenomena
occur along the mountain axis that
extends through the region, and along
the Pacific coast, often close to
major urban centres.
The distribution of seismic activity
is highly influenced by the zone of
subduction Cocos-Caribe, where the
edge of one plate of the earth's crust
slides under another, located in the
Pacific Ocean at a distance varying
between 30 and 100 km along the
Central American coast.
That zone releases 93 percent of the
seismic energy present in Central
America, Fernández said.
Also contributing to tremor activity
is the Polochic-Motagua-Chamalecón
fault system, located near the
Guatemala-Honduras border, marking the
union of the Caribbean and North
American plates, and the Panama fault
zone, in the Pacific, south of the
Costa Rica-Panama border, where the
Cocos and Nazca plates come together.
Furthermore, in recent years there has
been a great deal of seismic activity
along the Hess fault, east of
Nicaragua's Caribbean coast.
”The main thing is to be aware of
the recurrence and location of the
seismic sources,” said Maldonado,
”how often they release energy and
the response of the land to the
seismic waves.”
The replacement of analogue equipment
with digital has been an important
advance for the region, and future
projects should be centred on
research, communications and work on
modelling of the earth's crust,
commented Griselda Marroquín, of El
Salvador's National Service for
Territorial Studies.
Nicaragua, meanwhile, has proposed the
creation of a regional centre for
early warning of tidal waves created
by quakes on the ocean floor, with the
capacity to locate the tremors in less
than 10 to 15 minutes, according to
expert Claudio Gutiérrez.
”Nicaragua has a great deal of
experience in maintaining
seismological networks,” he said.
Honduras lacks such a network, while
Guatemala is the only country in the
region with equipment to measure
levels of volcanic gases, which can be
an indicator of future earthquakes.
The region's seismology experts also
share, through a Guatemalan program,
experiences in territorial
organisation and construction
standards, such as quality of building
materials and training for
construction workers and building
inspectors.
(* Jorge Alberto Grochembake is a
Tierramérica contributor. With
reporting by Pilar Franco (Mexico),
Lidia Hunter (Nicaragua) and Sandra
Rodríguez (El Salvador). Originally
published Oct. 25 by Latin American
newspapers that are part of the
Tierramérica network. Tierramérica
is a specialised news service produced
by IPS with the backing of the United
Nations Development Programme and the
United Nations Environment Programme.)
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