M5.5 earthquake Costa Rica
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck in Costa Rica on Mon, Jun 1, 1987, 9:11 PM CST (03:11 UTC), 40 km (25 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (Mw, moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1987-06-02 03:11:51 UTC
- Depth
- 40.4 km (25.1 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 9.093° N, 83.869° W
- Region
- Costa Rica
- Strongest shaking
- V, moderate shaking
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.5 | Mw, moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.51 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.5 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Felt (V) at Quepos and Palmar; (IV) at San Jose, Cartago, Heredia and Alajuela; (III) at Puntarenas and Limon. Felt (V) at Bocas del Toro and Volcan Boquete; (IV) at David, Panama. CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR (HRV) Data Used: GDSN L.P.B.: 15S, 39C Centroid Location: Origin Time 03:11:57.3 0.4 Lat 9.20N 0.03 Lon 83.87W 0.04 Dep 36.7 3.7 Half-duration 2.2 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**17 Nm Mrr=0.07 0.06 Mtt=0.10 0.08 Mff=-0.16 0.11 Mrt=-0.52 0.13 Mrf=-0.06 0.13 Mtf=2.23 0.07 Principal Axes: (T) Val=2.28 Plg=11 Azm=137 (N) Val=0.03 Plg=77 Azm=281 (P) Val=-2.30 Plg=8 Azm=46 Best Double Couple:Mo=2.3*10**17 NP1:Strike=181 Dip=77 Slip=178 NP2:Strike=272 Dip=88 Slip=13
From the USGS event page for usp00035fa. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- V, moderate shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 5.5% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 1.1 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayCosta Rica earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00035fa (also filed as gcmtb060287a, gcmt19870602031150, iscgem463388). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 1:54 PM UTC.