Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Identifying Geological Faults in Tegucigalpa

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

TEGUCIGALPA, Aug 2 2010 (IPS) - A mission of experts from the Japan International Cooperation Agency is in Honduras to identify the main geological faults in the capital and propose actions to reduce the city's vulnerabilities, which have been revealed over the last two months of heavy rains Akihito Yamada, JICA director in Honduras, told Tierramérica that two major fault lines have been found in the El Berrinche hills and in the slum neighborhood of El Reparto, which could result in tragedy if immediate mitigation measures are not implemented.

If the hills collapse, it would cut off the main river that crosses the city and more than a dozen neighborhoods. “We are looking for ways to channel underground water from these faults in order to prevent larger landslides,” he said.

Tegucigalpa Mayor Ricardo Alvarez said the preliminary report would be ready in two weeks, and evacuation of the highest risk zones would begin.