September 5, 2012 Earthquake: Nicoya, Costa Rica

2012, September 5, 14:42:07.8 UTC. One person killed, one died of a heart attack, at least 20 injured, some houses collapsed, one bridge damaged and landslides occurred in Guanacaste and western Puntarenas. Power and communications outages occurred. Felt (VIII) at Nicoya; (VII) at Liberia, Santa Cruz and Sardinal; (VI) at Alajuela, Calle Blancos, Grecia, Heredia, Jaco, San Francisco, San Isidro de El General, San Jose and San Pedro. Felt throughout Costa Rica. Also felt in parts of Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama. A small tsunami was recorded on tide stations in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador with the following amplitudes (one- half peak-to-trough): 16 cm on Isla Santa Cruz and 6 cm on Isla Baltra. (reference #1053)

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (CNS) - A strong earthquake struck northwest Costa Rica Sept. 5, killing at least two people, damaging homes and some Catholic churches, setting off a tsunami warning and rattling nerves. The magnitude-7.6 quake, felt throughout parts of Central America, struck at 8:42 a.m. local time near the small city of Nicoya in Costa Rica's tourism-heavy Guanacaste province. "It was really strong and very long. We were scared," said Douglas Cueillo, who manages programming at the Catholic radio station Radio Fides, which broadcasts throughout the country. The quake lasted about 15 seconds, and several small aftershocks followed. The Costa Rican Red Cross attributed two deaths to the quake, including one woman who apparently suffered a heart attack. (reference #9975)

USD 45 million in economic loss (reference #13727)