The 1991 Costa Rica earthquake, also known as the Limon earthquake or Bocas del Toro earthquake, occurred at 3:57 pm

local time Local time is the time observed in a specific locality. There is no canonical definition. Originally it was mean solar time, but since the introduction of time zones it is generally the time as determined by the time zone in effect, with daylight s ...

(21:56:51 UTC) on April 22. The epicenter of the 7.7

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

was in Pandora, Valle La Estrella, in the Caribbean region of Limon, Costa Rica, southeast of San José. The earthquake was the strongest recorded in Costa Rica's history, and was felt throughout the country as well as in western

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

.Marino Protti: ‘Podíamos decir dónde y qué tan grande sería el terremoto 2012’
La Nación, 2014-02-05.

Damage

The earthquake claimed 48 lives in Costa Rica and 79 in Bocas del Toro,

. Roads and bridges between Limon and Sixaola were all destroyed, and the epicentral region was only accessible by helicopter from the

ian side. In Limon, hotels and other landmarks collapsed and of uplift at the waterfront left coral and sand bluffs exposed. In Panama, extensive damage also occurred in Guabito,

Changuinola Changuinola is a city in the Bocas del Toro Province of Panama and seat city of the Changuinola District. The city attracts tourists as a popular gateway to Bocas Town and nearby cities Almirante and Chiriqui Grande. Changuinola is surrounded ...

, Almirante and

Isla Colon Isla or ISLA may refer to: Organizations * International Securities Lending Association, a trade association * International School of Los Angeles * International Bilingual School, later named International School of Los Angeles People * Isla ...

. The Chiquita Brands office building in Changuinola separated with a 3-meter breach.

Aftermath

The international bridge of Sixaola stayed intact. At the Changuinola "Capitán Manuel Niño" International Airport damage on the south end of the runway was severe, and very few planes were able to land. Helicopters were the primary aircraft bringing in relief workers, food, and supplies. By 1993, the Changuinola-Guabito road was reconstructed with $10 million

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

funded by the Panamanian government, and new housing facilities were constructed in Finca 4 and Almirante. Reconstruction of the Limon-Sixaola road took months, and in 2010 the road was paved and coded as Highway 36.

References

External links

El terremoto de Bocas del Toro 22 de abril, 1991 : Crónica del desastre
* {{DEFAULTSORT:1991 Costa Rica Earthquake Costa Rica Costa Rica Geography of Costa Rica Earthquakes in Costa Rica

1991 tsunamis Earthquakes in Panama

Damage

Aftermath

See also

References

External links