Remembering the 1991 Limón Earthquake
The Casa de la Cultura of Puerto Viejo filled with students from the local schools and members of the community to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the 7.6 M Limón earthquake. The walls were covered in historic photographs documenting the epic event, and the National Commission on Emergencies (CNE) presented a short documentary with video footage of the recovery effort and interviews of those involved. Later, speakers from the community shared their own memories of what they were doing when the earthquake hit and their impressions of how it impacted their communities.
The speakers included:
- Kelly Brown Stangland
- Edwin Patterson
- Peter Kring
- Zedy Ortiz
- Maritza Morales Williams
- Dudley Waite
- Enrique Pearson
Photo by Katie Beck
Edwin Patterson explains his story of the 1991 earthquake to students from the Liceo Puerto Viejo. Photo courtesy of Manuel Pinto.
Thank you to those who shared their stories, to the Casa de la Cultura, and to CNE for being a part of this event. The Rich Coast Project and Informate Caribe were present to document the event. Listen now to the audio album Stories of the 1991 Limón Earthquake.
Local storytellers recounted their experience of the 7.7 M earthquake that shook Costa Rica's Caribbean coast in 1991, leaving the landscape transformed and marking an important moment in the affected communities' histories.
These recordings were made at a special storytelling event for local school children hosted by Casa de la Cultura Puerto Viejo, the Center of Documentation and Information (CNE) and the Rich Coast Project on the 20th anniversary of the 1991 earthquake.
Photo courtesy of Manuel Pinto