- 2009 Costa Rica earthquake
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2009 Costa Rica Earthquake 
Date January 8, 2009 Magnitude 6.2 Mw (6.2 ML) Depth 4.5 km (2.8 mi)[1] Epicenter 10°11′49″N 84°09′32″W / 10.197°N 84.159°WCoordinates: 10°11′49″N 84°09′32″W / 10.197°N 84.159°W Countries or regions 
Costa Rica,
NicaraguaCasualties 34 dead, 91 injured,[2] 56 missing The 2009 Costa Rica earthquake (also known as Cinchona Earthquake), occurred at 1:21:34 pm local time (19:21:34 UTC) on January 8, 2009. The epicenter of the 6.1 Mw earthquake was in northern Costa Rica, 30 kilometres (19 mi) north-northwest of San José.[1] The earthquake was felt all over Costa Rica as well as in southern central Nicaragua.[1]
Contents
Damage
The earthquake took at least 34 lives,[3] including at least three children, left about 64 people missing,[3] and injured at least 91.[2] Hundreds of people were trapped and two villages had been cut off.[4] Most of the victims died when a landslide occurred near the La Paz waterfall by the Poás Volcano, and 452 people including 369 tourists were evacuated from the area in helicopters.[5] 1,244 people were displaced in the immediate aftermath.[3][6] In addition, a hotel, houses, roads, and vehicles were damaged, and several bridges were also destroyed.[5] The town of Cinchona was heavily hit, and all of the buildings there were heavily damaged.[7] Power was temporarily disrupted in San José.[1]
Aftermath
The Costa Rican Red Cross sent 400 personnel to assist in the recovery.[6] The agency said, "Some 42 communities were affected and sustained serious impacts on civil and electrical infrastructure... [They] are going to need a lot of help."[6] Four helicopters were also dispatched in order to help aid efforts.[6] The Comisión Nacional de Emergencias (National Emergency Commission) also requested for private helicopters to help with the aid.[8] Additionally, the United States and Colombia dispatched helicopters with aid to assist with the relief and recovery efforts.[9]
About 2,000 aftershocks have been felt throughout Costa Rica.[3]
On January 12, the president Oscar Arias declared National Grieving of 5 days out of respect for the victims, and asked the organizers of the Fiestas de Palmares to postpone them.
On January 13, the 'Banco de Costa Rica' announced that it would offer home financing credit to homeowners who want to rebuild or fix their home.[10]
See also
- List of earthquakes in Costa Rica
References
- ^ a b c d "Magnitude 6.1 - COSTA RICA". United States Geological Survey. 2008-01-09. http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2009bpba.php#details. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ a b "Costa Rica contabiliza 18 muertos y 56 desaparecidos por terremoto". La Prensa Gráfica. 2009-01-10. http://www.laprensagrafica.com/index.php/internacionales/mundo/11435.html. Retrieved January 2009.
- ^ a b c d "34 dead, dozens missing from Costa Rica quake". CNN News. January 11, 2009. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/01/10/crica.quake/index.html.
- ^ "Four killed in strong Costa Rica quake, tourists trapped". The Age. 2009-01-09. http://news.theage.com.au/world/four-killed-in-strong-costa-rica-quake-tourists-trapped-20090110-7ds2.html. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ a b Benavides, Roger (2009-01-09). "Tourists evacuated after fatal Costa Rica quake". Reuters. http://uk.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUKN09283823._CH_.2420. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ a b c d Sabo, Eric; Robin Stringer (2008-01-09). "Costa Rica Earthquake Rescuers Try to Help Thousands (Update1)". Bloomberg. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aeYPxZS53OA0&refer=latin_america. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ Jimenez, Marianela (2008-01-09). "Death toll in Costa Rica quake rises to 5 victims". AP. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j6U3SIe2xtJQdfeJ9zln57FfmRLQD95JOUFO1. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ "13 Dead, Many More Missing In Afternoon 6.2 Earthquake". InsideCostaRica. 2009-01-09. http://insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2009/january/09/nac01.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Garnica, Vanessa I. "Costa Rica, Nicaragua Daily News." Costa Rica Newspaper, The Tico Times, News, Costa Rica Real Estate, Travel – Costa Rica News, Costa Rica Earthquake. 13 Jan. 2009. <http://www.ticotimes.net/dailyarchive/2009_01/0115092.htm>.
External links
- Latest news articles about the Costa Rica Earthquake
- EarthScope USArray Array Network Facility records Costa Rica Earthquake - maps and waveforms from the event
← Earthquakes in 2009 → January - Papua (7.6, Jan 4)
- Costa Rica (6.2, Jan 8)†
- Xinjiang (5.0, Jan 25)
February - Talaud Islands (7.2, Feb 11)
March - Victoria (4.7, Mar 6 and 18)
- Tonga (7.6, Mar 19)
April - L'Aquila (6.3, Apr 6)†
- 1st Afghanistan (5.5, Apr 16)
- Guerrero (6.0, Apr 27)
May - Honduras (7.3, May 23)
June - New Ireland (6.7, Jun 23)
July - Crete (6.4, Jul 1)
- Yunnan (5.7, Jul 9)
- Fiordland (7.8, Jul 15)
August - Gulf of California (6.9, Aug 3)
- Izu Islands (7.1, Aug 9)
- Shizuoka (6.4, Aug 10)
- Andaman Islands (7.5, Aug 11)
- 1st Sumatra (6.7, Aug 16)
September - West Java (7.0, Sep 2)†
- Georgia (6.0, Sep 8)
- Bhutan (6.1, Sep 21)
- Samoa (8.1, Sep 29)†
- 2nd Sumatra (7.6, Sep 30)†‡
October - Vanuatu (7.8, Oct 7)
- 2nd Afghanistan (6.2, Oct 22)
- Banda Sea (6.9, Oct 24)
November - Fiji (7.3, Nov 9)
December - Karonga (~6.0, December)
- Hualien (6.4, Dec 19)
† indicates earthquake resulting at least 30 deaths
‡ indicates the deadliest earthquake of the yearCategories:- 2009 in Costa Rica
- 2009 earthquakes
- Geography of Costa Rica
- Earthquakes in Costa Rica
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