I Would Much Rather Survive a Massive Quake in Costa Rica.

Still kickin’ here in the desert southwest, dreaming about moving to ‘earthquake prone’ Costa Rica someday.

When the news came of your little 6.0 shaker while having dinner, my friends were clearly worried for me, as they know about my affection for Costa Rica and since they all know how small the country is (about 70% the size of the county in which I live, actually), they were empathetic for me and my possible compadres…




My response to their deer-in-the-headlights gaze, was: “Please pass the salsa.”









They thought this was quite callous, as they know that Costa Rica has substandard building codes, is a former “third world” local, and all they could imagine was absolute calamity, i.e. Japan, Los Angeles, etc., taking the same geological hit.







What I explained to them, from an architectural engineering point of view, was that:

1. Costa Rica is quite used to tremors – lots of little ones relieves geologic tension and keeps the ‘big one’ away.
2. Most everyone is in a short structure and the taller ones are built to modern standards.
3. An 8-12 story building has an interesting quality to it harmonically which can make it much sturdier than a 4-7 story building – it has to do with the same vibratory way your car antenna will have 2 ‘stationary’ points in its curve when shaken vigorously from the bottom – it’s a height to width structural kind of thing – no hocus pocus!
4. Ticos really don’t seem to mind if the utilities go out for a while – they don’t need heat or A/C and they are used to it anyway.
5. I would much rather ‘survive’ a massive quake in Costa Rica with its diverse landscape, people spread out all over the place, and less dependent on ‘modern entrapments’ than in say, Japan or Los Angeles – just imagine the complete breakdown and mayhem in LA in just perhaps 12 hours of no electricity. They would have no sewer, water, gas or electric, panic would be the order of the day and very few could escape the city. The feds would attempt to mobilize the National Guard and good luck with all that!
6. Finally, in LA, you couldn’t even do landscaping after an event like that – in Costa Rica, the goat can keep on eating in the front yard as soon as the shaking ends.

So, my last comment was: “They were lucky – they were in Costa Rica when they got a 6.0 Now…, would you PLEASE pass the salsa.”

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Written by Jim Liesen who has been a VIP member of WeLoveCostaRica.com for more than three years and has been coming to Costa Rica since for business and pleasure. His architectural career spans over 20 years and has also been acknowledged as an award winning writer and photojournalist. He hopes to someday move to CR and help others fulfill the same dream of living in the land of stunning scenery, sunshine, and smiles.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.