December 30, 1888 Earthquake: San Jose, Ala Juela, Heredia, Costa Rica

Reference #103

1888, December 29/30. Location: San Jose, Cartago, Alajuela, Poas.

Description: ... On Saturday 29th of December about 18

minutes to 8 p.m. we had a quite severe earthquake, the

heaviest I had felt since I came here in August 1886.

About 11 p.m. the same night there was another of equal

intensity and lasting twice as long. Near 4 a.m. Sunday

morning the 30th of December a tremendous shock reoccurred,

said by all to be the heaviest experienced since

1841. The central battlement between the two towers

forming the front of the cathedral fell, part outward

crushing the roof of the portico, and part within crushing

the roof gallery and organ of the cathedral. Both towers

are cracked loose from the main body all the way to the

ground.

The president's palace is cracked at the corners and

considerably damaged. The new union bank, a large

buildings ... is greatly damaged. Cracked at the corners and other places; part of one wall and part of the roof

fallen. The cathedral walls are about eight feet thick,

those of the union bank . . . five feet thick. The towers of

the principal churches are cracked all round. Private

houses are greatly damaged, some entirely unsafe, and a

large number of families are camping out in tents.. . .

In Cartago the shock was light and no damage done.

In Alajuela the shock was as hard or harder than San

Jod and equal damage .... Between Poas and Barba the

country, I am told, is much broken up-great landslides

on the mountains, rivers diverted from their courses,

hills appearing where there were before level meadows

and vice versa and fissures in the earth. One home was

completely swallowed up in the neighborhood of Poas.

Of the family the mother with one child ran out in time

and was saved; but the father and five children went

down with the house. In San Jose there were quite a

number buried by falling plaster and tiles; some limbs

broken and dislocated, one man crushed by a falling roof

and two very old ladies died of fright (Mansfield 1888).

Reference #124

1888, December 30, 0412 local time. The duration of this earthquake, "chronograph in hand" was 25 seconds (Gonzalez Viquez, 1910). It completely destroyed a few houses, damaged many others in San Jose de Costa Rica and there were collapses along the Poas, one of which covered 5 people. In addition to the capital, which was the most affected, Alajuela and Heredia suffered considerably, as well as Alajuelita (see Annals of the Center for Seismological Studies of Costa Rica, 1911).

The intensity of the commotion was greater to the western side of the country, with a focus closer to the Pacific. The total balance is given by Gonzalez Viquez: 201 fallen buildings, 1226 disabled and 2232 requiring repair. Among public buildings, 12 collapsed or became unusable and 39 had to be repaired. According to Pittier (1889) in Fraijanes, at the foot of the south-east fault of the Poas, here is scarcely a house that has resisted. Sense in Limon and Greytown [Nicaragua].

Reference #1055

1888, December 30, 4h 21m., a.m., local time. Costa Rica, San Jose, Alajuela, Heredia. Intensity III which corresponds to an earthquake which destroyed towns and devastated districts.

Reference #1199

1888, December 30. 12.10 N, 83.80 W. Felt in Limon, Greytown [Nicaragua].

Reference #1908

1888, December 20. San Jose, Alajuela, Heredia. Intensity III.