December 1, 2016 Earthquake: Paraiso, Turrialba, Costa Rica
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Paraiso, Turrialba, Costa Rica on December 1, 2016 at 00:25:21 UTC, 1 km below the surface.
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
- December 1, 2016
- Time
- 00:25:21 UTC
- Place
- Paraiso, Turrialba, Costa Rica
- Magnitude
- 5.3 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 1 km (1 mi)
- Intensity
- 6 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 9.949° N, 83.807° W
- Country
- Costa Rica
The toll
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses damaged
- 60
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.
At least 60 homes damaged and small landslides occurred. Felt (VI) at Paraiso, (V) at Turrialba, (IV) at Curridabat and (III) at San Isidro and San Jose. Felt from San Ramon to Ciudad Cortes and from La Suiza to Quepos. Felt at Boquete and Las Lomas, Panama. Paraiso, Cartago, Costa Rica - CDI: 6; Ipis, San Jose, Costa Rica - CDI: 6; Turrialba, Cartago, Costa Rica - CDI: 5; Curridabat, San Jose, Costa Rica - CDI: 4; San Pedro, San Jose, Costa Rica - CDI: 4 (reference #13456)
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
- November 20, 2004, San Jose, Parrita, Quepos, Costa Rica
- December 5, 1941, Costa Rica-Panama
- April 3, 1983, W, SE, Panama, Costa Rica
- July 10, 1993, Turrialba, Cartago, Costa Rica
- July 3, 1983, San Jose, Costa Rica
- December 22, 1990, Alajuela, Santiago DE Puriscal, Costa Rica
- November 13, 2017, Jaco, Costa Rica
- September 5, 2012, Nicoya, Costa Rica
- September 2, 1841, Cartago, Nicaragua, Costa Rica
More
Significant earthquakes of 2016The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2016Recent 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 10379.