Strong Earthquake Rattles Central Costa Rica

At 1:20pm on Thursday 8th January 2009 a strong earthquake shook us up here in the Central Valley.

According to the OVSICORI, the earthquake was measured at 6.2 on the Richter scale and was about 17 miles deep with its epicenter near Poas volcano which is 22 miles north west of Costa Rica’s capital, San Jose.

The U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program website states that the earthquake was 6.1 on the Richter scale and occurred at a depth of 4.5 kilometers

You can see some video footage taken from various locations on the BBC site here.

Most areas in Costa Rica have been unaffected by the earthquake but there have been 1,800 aftershock since, with their strength ranging from 2 to 4 on the Richter scale. There have been no deaths of North American reported.

Hundreds of people have been slightly injured and so far there have been 20 deaths reported in landslides caused by the earthquake and others who were buried in their homes which collapsed. There are however, quite a few still missing so this number will probably increase.

A few bridges have collapsed, some roads have suffered serious damage estimated to be around US$12 million and, in the most affected areas hundreds of homes have been destroyed and there is no drinking water.

Although Costa Rica does regularly experience minor earthquakes, major earthquakes and resulting fatalities are not as common as you might think.

Major Costa Rica Earthquakes

• 4th May 1910 – 6.4 Richter (700 fatalities)
• 25th March 1990 – 7.0 Richter in Nicoya Peninsula
• 22nd December 1990 – 7.7 Richter in Puriscal
• 22nd April 1991 – 7.7 Richter Limon (47 fatalities)
• 10th July 1993 – 5.3 Richter Pejibaye de Jimenez
• 5th January 1999 – 6.2 Richter
• 20th November 2004 – 6.9 Richter in Quepos (8 fatalities)
• 28th December 2005 – 5.1 Richter in Quepos
• 8th January 2009 – 6.2 Richter in Poas

You can see more detailed reports about past earthquakes in Costa Rica here.

You can see photos of the earthquake damage done in past earthquakes here.

When this earthquake struck I was enjoying lunch in an Escazu restaurant with a Santa Ana real estate developer and when the women started screaming, we calmly walked out the back door into the garden.

Apart from the fact that my lamb moved around the plate a bit, the lunch was great!

Returning from lunch to my new apartment in San Jose (on the 10th floor), I found drawers had come flying out, the water from the toilet cisterns had been shaken over the top onto the floor, lamps fell and smashed, my beautiful painting crashed to the floor and the elevators stopped working but, thankfully my wine and my bottles of Lagavulin and Ardbeg remained intact..

My son and I took a long walk through San Jose to see if we could find anything interesting for you. One thing we did find strange was being told by police that we could not walk down a certain street because of damage to the old building above the Zapatto store, yet, they allowed people to enter the store to look at shoes…

Am I worried about earthquakes in Costa Rica? Nah! I wouldn’t have just moved into a new tenth floor apartment if I was worried…

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Written by Scott Oliver, author of How To Buy Costa Rica Real Estate Without Losing Your Camisa and Costa Rica’s Guide To Making Money Offshore.

Costa Rica Earthquake Reports:

1. For more information about earthquakes in Costa Rica, please see the Universidad de Costa Rica Red Sismológica Nacional website here.
2. Most recent earthquake reports are here.
3. You can also see photos of volcanos, eruptions and earthquake damage here.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.