Hazards Analysis in the Canton La Unión, Cartago, Costa Rica

Abstract

The hazards from the canton La Unión were identified, analyzed, and described. A value ranging from 0 to 1 was assigned to each threat in the Minimum Geostatistical Units (MGU), to estimate the dangers density in the study area. This article shows the spatial distribution of such index. The manifestation of several natural and anthropic events forces to investigate and understand such processes, in order to improve Disaster Risk Management (DRM) in the Canton and provide inputs to the Local Government to carry out such work. The investigation required a bibliographic review to know the impact of past incidents, field surveys to determine the spatial extent of the threats, and the calculation of a hazard’s density index. According to the results, earthquakes are the main danger in La Union and the Center, South and West of the canton are the areas with the highest hazards density.