Costa Rica Hit by Magnitude 6.1 Quake

A Magnitude 6.1 Earthquake Struck Costa Rica Near San Jose

UPDATE – January 10, 2009

The official count of confirmed deaths rose to 15 with up to 60 people still missing and dozens of others injured.

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According to the authorities two children were killed by a landslide near the epicenter some 35 km NNW of the capital, San Jose.

“Panoramic view of San José Downtown.” Author: Jorge Rodríguez;  photo taken April 20th., 2006. Licensed under the GFDL by the author; Released under the GNU Free Documentation License.

According to AFP and Reuters, the strong quake shattered windows and interrupted power and cell phone service in parts of the capital, where residents reported damage to buildings and roads.

10-degree map of epicenter centered at 10°N,85°W and map of earthquake location – Credit: USGS

This Earthquake

Magnitude: 6.1
Date-Time:

• Thursday, January 08, 2009 at 19:21:36 UTC
• Thursday, January 08, 2009 at 01:21:36 PM at epicenter

Location: 10.221°N, 84.207°W
Depth: 14 km (8.7 miles) set by location program
Region: COSTA RICA
Distances:

• 35 km (20 miles) NNW of SAN JOSE, Costa Rica
• 75 km (45 miles) ENE of Puntarenas, Costa Rica
• 115 km (75 miles) SSE of San Carlos, Nicaragua
• 1770 km (1100 miles) SSW of Miami, Florida

Location Uncertainty: horizontal +/- 7 km (4.3 miles); depth fixed by location program
Source:  USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID: us2009bpba

Related Links:

• Central America Earthquake Information [USGS]
• Landslides, Floods, Extreme Rain Events [Links page]
  
• Earthquakes [Links page]