Costa Mar reviews earthquake readiness after regional tremor

A moderate earthquake struck Costa Mar's southern offshore zone on Tuesday evening, measuring 5.1 on the seismic scale and causing no reported injuries or structural damage. The tremor, which lasted approximately forty seconds, was felt across Puerto Azul and the peninsula's interior towns. It has prompted the Regional Assembly to convene a special session to examine the region's earthquake response protocols and building standards.

Governor Solomon Adeyemi announced the review on Wednesday morning, acknowledging that Costa Mar's coastal topography and dense tourism infrastructure create vulnerabilities that the region has not fully assessed since the Federal Charter was ratified in 1995. "We have not experienced a significant seismic event in three decades," the Governor said in a statement. "That does not mean we are prepared for one."

The Costa Mar Regional Assembly will hold public hearings on July 8th and 9th to examine three areas: the adequacy of building codes for hotels and residential structures in the coastal zone, the effectiveness of early-warning systems maintained by the Federal Seismic Monitoring Network, and the readiness of evacuation procedures for beach areas and the tourism district. The hearings will be conducted in English and Spanish, with simultaneous interpretation available in Creole.