El tsunami del 22 de abril de 1991 en Bocas del Toro, Panamá

Abstract

A local tsunami was observed few minutes after the 22 April 1991 (MS= 7,5) earthquake, along the Caribean coast of Costa Rica and Panama. This study summarizes eyewitness accounts and field observations from 16 sites along the afected coast, from Gandoca, near the Costa Rica - Panama border to Bastimentos Island, Panama. Little or no tsunami damage occurred because the fringing coral reefs served as natural protection barriers. The maximum run up height was between 2.0 and 2.5 m, and inundation and coastal flooding extended up to 200 m inland in some locations. In some parts the coastal subsidence amplified the run up effects. Widespread sand deposition near the Costa Rica - Panama border is similar to eyewitness accounts of the 7 May l822 earthquake, suggesting that the return time for tsunamogenic events similar to the April 22, I991 event may be on the order of less than two hundred years in this region.