Two Earthquakes in Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Two earthquakes shook Santa Cruz, Bolivia, on Saturday the 23rd of January. The first took place at 5:23 a.m. (5.2 magnitude) and the second at 5:40 a.m. (5.3 magnitude). The epicenter was 75 kilometers from the city center near Montero. No injuries or damage were reported. Families who live in tall apartment buildings report having felt them slightly. I live in a building and was up at the time but felt nothing (I'm in the southern zone of the city about 8 blocks from the central plaza). In fact it's 5 p.m. and I'm just finding out about this. The video below is in Spanish but gives more information on this, indicating that those who felt it were mostly in the northern area.

Short article in Spanish here.

News report in Spanish posted on Facebook.

Did you know there is only one earthquake-proof building in Santa Cruz? It's the brand new Condominio Gran Grigotá apartment building located directly behind the police command station (Comando Policial) 1 block from the Cristo. It was built by a group of Japanese architects and their construction company.

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Two Earthquakes in Santa Cruz, Bolivia

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Jun 13, 2010
 yup nothing happened
by: Anonymous

yup nothing happened
Jan 23, 2010
 Earthquakes
by: Renata Calderaro

I am glad to know that no serious injuries were reported as a result of this morning's earthquakes.

I think situations like this make us think of the importance of having a plan. Speak with your family members and always have a plan of where you would meet, for example, if the communication systems failed and no cell phones were available.

Renata Calderaro
www.visamiamiblog.com
Jan 23, 2010
 Information on preparing for earthquakes
by: BoliviaBella

I've put together a page here on earthquake preparedness for those of you who want to know more. I've gotten several messages today about people who were a little frightened by today's earthquakes. Although I didn't feel the Santa Cruz quakes today, I was in California when the big one hit on 17 October 1989. Here's what I learned from that.
Jan 23, 2010
 Earthquake preparedness
by: BoliviaBella

I'm preparing a page on what we can do to prepare in advance of an earthquake, what to do during an earthquake, and what to do after an earthquake. Unfortunately, most of Bolivia is completely unprepared because this is not a common phenomenon in this country.

A friend of mine whose mother lives in the tall buildings across from La Salle school told me the residents were all very afraid and were running out of the building. She said the buildings "swayed like hammocks". This is actually a good thing - buildings that sway sustain less damage than buildings that don't.

However, it's clear people have no idea what to do in the event of an earthquake - it's not something we are accustomed to having to think about in this country and I'm doubtful there is an emergency plan in place among authorities. In any case, no there are never any drills in schools or anything like that. Maybe there should be.
Jan 23, 2010
 Earthquake Santa Cruz Bolivia
by: Gijs

Ha, so I am not crazy after all! I felt it too but didn't know if it was for real or if I were still sleeping. Gijs

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