Current knowledge on the Central America historical seismicity: an analysis of recent catalogues

Historical seismicity studies in Central America have increased since 1980. Currently, there is a well-organized regional digital catalogue database structured according to modern techniques. It contains more than 17 000 earthquakes which occurred between 1520 and 1992. A regional tsunami catalogue is also available. The historical seismicity research included a more complete earthquake documentation obtained from foreign and Central American depositories. New intensity data point estimates and isoseismal maps allows among others, macroseismic magnitude calculations and seismogenic source determinations, for many pre-1900 earthquakes. Future trends in Central America historical seismicity research are discussed.