Emergency services in Costa Rica will today be assessing damage caused by a powerful earthquake that struck the country’s Pacific coast, close to the popular tourist town of Nicoya, yesterday.
At the beach of Matapalo, an hour’s drive from Nicoya, residents said they heard a roaring sound when the 6.5 magnitude quake struck. It had a depth of 24.5 miles (39.5 kilometers), according to a preliminary report.
So far, there have been no reports of major damage or casualties, although the quake was felt in the capital San Jose where people ran out of buildings fearing they would collapse.
The region suffered an even more powerful earthquake last month, when a 7.6 earthquake hit the same cost, causing minor damage. Seismologists both in the U.S. and Costa Rica said the latest quake was probably an aftershock.
