5.8 magnitude earthquake with epicenter in the Pacific shakes a good part of Costa Rica – Diario La Página –

A moderate intensity earthquake was recorded on the morning of this Saturday, October 12, in the province of Guanacaste, Costa Rica, with no reports of affected people, damage to infrastructure or basic services as a result of the movement.

The movement originated at 11:43 am and was perceived in the provinces of Guanacaste, Puntarenas, Alajuela, Heredia and San José with moderate to mild intensities.

The report from the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (Ovsicori-UNA) pointed to a magnitude of 6.0 while the National Seismological Network (RSN UCR-ICE) estimated it at 5.8 and the Seismic Engineering Laboratory of the University of Costa Rica (LIS-UCR) at 6.0. For its part, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimated it at 6.2.

According to the LIS-UCR, the earthquake had a depth of 32 kilometers and its probable origin is the subduction process of the Cocos plate under the Caribe plate. The epicenter was located 5.1 kilometers southeast of Tamarindo, in Santa Cruz, Guanacaste.

This event is located within the Nicoya subduction zone, which caused the 2012 earthquake and other strong events in the area such as the 7.0 earthquake in 1978, the 7.7 magnitude earthquake in 1950 and the magnitude 7.2 in the year 1900.

This tremor triggered the Ovsicori-UNA earthquake early warning system, initially reporting a magnitude of 5.5 with an epicenter 55 kilometers west-northwest of Santa Cruz and at a depth of 10 kilometers; followed seconds after an update of the preliminary magnitude to 5.7 with the epicenter 35 kilometers west-northwest of the same locality, but at a depth of 35 kilometers.