Shake, Rattle, and Roll

Before we came, one of the things we knew about Costa Rica were the very active volcanos, and because of that, there is also a lot of seismic activity. Since we have been here, we have felt 5 earthquakes. However, to get a better idea of how many earthquakes there are here, Mike did a little research. In the last week there have been 9 earthquakes on the Panama/Costa Rica border. They have ranged from 4.3 – 5.6 , two of which we felt. As you know, one of the “problems” with areas of the world and with the heavy death toll can be partially attributed to the building structures. Much of the third world does not use wood or steal for housing, it uses cinder blocks. As you can imagine, it’s pretty un-earthquake friendly. It’s the collapse of these buildings that cannot withstand the shaking that causes much of the mortality rates. Our apartment is no exception. You can see the wear and tear it’s received over the years by the stress cracks in many of our walls. I’ve included only two of the cracks in our apartment, although we have many, and in almost all of our rooms.

In our bedroom:



Next to our front door: