Seismic hazard on the Airport geological fault, East part of Managua city, Nicaragua

Abstract

The Airport seismic fault is located in the eastern part of the city of Managua; it is a seismically active fault zone, N-S orientation and extends approximately 16.2 km long. The Airport Failure zone represents a seismic danger for the Capital City, which has historically been destroyed by earthquakes of moderate magnitude (Ms 6-6.2) caused by the breakdown of geological faults, leaving devastating effects on the constructions and causing the loss of human lives by the total collapse of homes and buildings.

In order to evaluate the seismic risk of the Airport Fault, an investigation was carried out to study the soil where geophysical methods of seismic exploration were applied, such as; Multichannel Surface Wave Analysis (MASW), microtremors measurements using SPAC and Nakamura techniques. The combination of these methods provide information for the seismic characterization of the soil.

In the present study, the objective is to study the conditions and seismic characteristics of the soils in the eastern margin of Managua, specifically in the geological fault zone of the Airport. The study results are of great importance for earthquake disaster prevention and territory planning and provide information for the reduction of seismic risk in the eastern part of the Capital City.