November 20, 2004 Earthquake: San Jose, Parrita, Quepos, Costa Rica
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck San Jose, Parrita, Quepos, Costa Rica on November 20, 2004 at 08:07:22 UTC, 16 km below the surface. It killed 8 people.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- November 20, 2004
- Time
- 08:07:22 UTC
- Place
- San Jose, Parrita, Quepos, Costa Rica
- Magnitude
- 6.4 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 16 km (10 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 9.602° N, 84.172° W
- Country
- Costa Rica
The toll
- Deaths
- 8
- Injuries
- Some (about 51 to 100)
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 526
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Eight people killed and several injured; 526 buildings damaged or destroyed; many roads and bridges damaged; some landslides occurred in the San Jose area. Waterlines broke at Parrita and power outages occurred at Quepos.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 4, 1910, Cartago, San Jose, Costa Rica
- April 22, 1991, Limon, Pandora, Panama, Costa Rica
- December 30, 1952, Costa Rica
- April 14, 1973, Tilaran, Arenal, Rio Chiquito, Costa Rica
- January 8, 2009, La Paz, Costa Rica
- September 1, 1955, Costa Rica
- December 5, 1941, Costa Rica-Panama
- April 3, 1983, W, SE, Panama, Costa Rica
- December 22, 1990, Alajuela, Santiago DE Puriscal, Costa Rica
- November 13, 2017, Jaco, Costa Rica
- July 3, 1983, San Jose, Costa Rica
- July 10, 1993, Turrialba, Cartago, Costa Rica
- September 5, 2012, Nicoya, Costa Rica
- December 25, 2003, Puerto Armuelles, Panama-Costa Rica
- August 9, 1991, Cartago, Costa Rica
More
Significant earthquakes of 2004The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2004Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 5812.