After the phenomenon this morning in Canelones, doubts arise about the resources to monitor and prevent risks.
An earthquake caught the Uruguay this Wednesday morning and specifically impacted the city of Atlantis, in Canelones, with a magnitude of 4.2 on the Richter seismological scaleHowever, this phenomenon aroused controversy about the resources that the country has to detect and prevent risks from earthquakes, alluding to an even hotter topic: the water crisis.
The geologist specializing in earthquakes and who is in charge of the Geophysical Observatory of Uruguaybelonging to the University of the Republic (UdelaR), Leda Sanchezspecified to Telemundo that “there was an earthquake that apparently in the preliminary location gives us south of Pando”, but clarified that they are still studying it.
The average magnitude estimated so far is 4.2. and a station in Montevideo frame 5.18. “With each of the magnitudes in each of the stations, and based on the local parameters of the crust of Uruguay, an average magnitude is calculated,” added the geologist.
Controversy over resources
The geologist did not miss the opportunity to express her regret for the lack of resources suffered by the Geophysical Observatory of Uruguay and he remembered that there had already been other earthquakes. “We have no resources. I buy many teams with my salary ”, explained Sánchez who added that “it is not fair that one is addressing situations that have an impact throughout the national territory, and that we do not have concrete support from the State.”
In this sense, he assured that the only support comes from the Ministry of Defence since the stations are usually planted on military premises. “The support is that we go to a barracks and we can stay there, we save the hotel, food, but that’s what we have,” he said.
Sánchez took the analogy with a hot topic today: the water crisis, where historically it has also been warned the need to invest in this sector. “The same thing happened to us with the water. There reports from the 1970s that dams had to be built and nobody gave them ball; The same thing happens to us with this,” remarked the geologist.
“There is a poor risk management. Even if the risk is low, it is still risk. We have repeated many times that in Uruguay there have been major earthquakes, of significant magnitude, that have generated some damage, and that you have to invest to find out, ”he added.
Source: Ambito
