Strong Earthquake Strikes Western Costa Rica

Costa Rica Earthquake

According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, at 8:42 AM local time this morning (14:42 UTC), a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck a sparsely populated region of western Costa Rica approximately 150 km west of San José , the nation’s capital and largest city (approximate population 365,800 as of 2006). The earthquake, initially estimated at a magnitude of 7.9, struck at a depth of 40 kilometers. Though the size of the quake prompted the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center to issue a tsunami warning for Pacific coastlines of Costa Rica, Nicaragua and…

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AIR Worldwide report shows the changing earthquake risks seen in Japan

AIR Worldwide, a prestigious catastrophe modeling firm serving the global insurance industry, has released a new report titled “Understanding Earthquake Risk in Japan Following the Tohoku-Oki Earthquake of March 11, 2011.” The quake that struck Japan last year was a magnitude -9.0 and caused a fair amount of damage in Northern provinces. The quake itself did not cause a severe level of damage but it did trigger a massive tsunami that cut a swath of destruction in the country and spurred a nuclear crisis. AIR’s scientists have been conducting detailed…

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Haiti and Dominican Republic to enter into a time of seismic activity, according to U.S. Geological Survey

Though insurers around the world are holding out hope that 2012 will not be as disastrous as 2011, a new study from the U.S. Geological Survey suggests that that may not be the case. The agency has been investigating earthquakes in the isles of Hispaniola, home to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. In 2010, Haiti was rocked by a strong 7.0-magnitude quake that cost the lives of more than 300,000 people are decimated entire communities throughout the nation. Researchers say that this may not be the last big earthquake that…

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