Abstract

In Costa Rica, despite their relative low frequency, tsunamis could pose risk to coastal communities. The integration of geophysical and geological information allows the interpretation of possible rupture areas for which tsunami propagation and inundation is evaluated through numerical modeling along the Caribbean of Costa Rica and areas adjacent to the tsunamigenic earthquake that occurred in 1991 (Mw 7,7). The results show that the tsunami threat in the Caribbean of Costa Rica arises particularly from earthquakes generated in the North Panama Deformation Belt. In addition, it is shown that medium-magnitude earthquakes (Mw ~ 7) in high-angle faults can cause local tsunamis. This work can be used as a basis for the generation of evacuation maps and awareness of the tsunami threat in the area.

Keywords: Maximum Expected Earthquake Scenario; Coseismic Slip; Tsunami Numerical Simulations; Caribbean; Costa Rica