ABSTRACT
The tsunami hazard of Central America had been underestimated until 1992 when a catastrophic tsunami struck Nicaragua. This event raised public awareness that large earthquakes in the region can generate destructive tsunamis as in other seismicallyactive areas. In fact, Central America is part of the so-called “Circum-Pacific Ring of Fire”, which is one of the most volcanically and tectonically active regions in the world. Central America is located on the western Caribbean tectonic plate along a convergent zone under-thrusted by the Cocos plate. The interaction between the two plates has created a zone of subduction along the Middle America trench (MAT), a very active regional stress field responsible for crustal deformation and the occurrence of many destructive earthquakes and tsunamis. Additionally, the Polochic-MotaguaChanialecón fault system (PMCFS) and the North Panama deformed belt (NPDB) are two other significant tectonic structures in the region where large earthquakes and tsunamis have been generated (see Chapter 12).
