OVSICORI: Major earthquake will hit Osa in next 5 to 10 years

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September 25th, 2013 (InsideCostaRica.com) Marino Protti, a seismologist at the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (OVSICORI), said that a major earthquake measuring between 7.2 and 7.4 magnitude on the Richter scale will strike   the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica’s southern zone in the next 5 to 10 years.

The seismic characteristics of the area have OVSICORI authorities focusing on the area.  Experts will be installing a seismic station and other equipment in the area in the coming months.

“There are three plates which interact [in Osa], and we want to have a better idea of the movement of the plates and the local faults,” Protti said.

Like Nicoya, which was struck by a magnitude 7.6 earthquake on September 5th, 2012 , Osa has the rare distinction of being situated directly on a fault.

OVSICORI will begin constructing a new seismic station in Osa in November, once the rainy season has come to an end.

Protti described a “very large deformation” in Osa, of which they require further detail.  Protti said that a major earthquake in Osa is expected to occur roughly once every 40 years, versus once every 50 years in Nicoya.

The last major quake to strike Osa was in 1983.