200 Earthquakes Have Been Recorded in Chiriquí Province Recently

Due to constant earthquakes, the Institute of Geosciences is studying the soils and structures in and around the Chiriquí Province in Panama.  About 200 earthquakes have been recorded, all parallel to the Burica peninsula.  The number of earthquakes that have been occurring in our country over the past few weeks, with the highest depth in Chiriquí province, has put experts on alert who have begun a series of soil studies in Chiriqui.  Diligence runs weeks after recent strong earthquakes that caused damage to homes, schools, old structures and even the rehabilitation of roads.  Nestor Luque, director of the National Institute of Geosciences, explained that the study is related to investigations of amplification of seismic waves from the soil in Chiriquí, starting with the David district. 

Luque detailed that when a ground is soft, the waves tend to amplify, but contrary to that, if the ground is solid or there is hard rock, seismic waves do not amplify.  They have known that in parts near the Cathedral of David, which is kept closed, and near Hill San Cristóbal, there were disturbances to houses, so the idea is to determine the behavior of these floors in the face of seismic movements.  This, the expert elaborated, will allow authorities and builders to reinforce buildings for upcoming seismic events.  The earthquakes that have happened are not related to the Panama fracture zone, but instead with a reverse fault that runs parallel to it and very shallow.  “Some houses have been homemade or self-built, and do not follow structural norms and this has led to several structures in certain areas of Chiriquí being affected.”  The idea is to guide the population to take into account the situation of the soil where they live and build appropriately,” he emphasized.