Powerful Quake Hits Costa Rica, Tsunami Warning Issued
A powerful earthquake rocked Costa Rica on Wednesday, rattling buildings, cutting power in areas of the capital and triggering a tsunami warning, though there were no immediate reports of casualties.
Residents of San Jose said phones went down, electricity poles rattled on the streets and water flowed out of pools after the 7.6-magnitude quake, but Costa Rica President Laura Chinchilla said on her official Twitter account that there are no reports of loss of life or structural damage so far.
Locals were shocked by the force of the quake.
“I was inside my car at a stop sign and all the sudden everything started shaking. I thought the street was going to break in two,” said Erich Johanning, a 30-year-old who works in Internet marketing in San Jose. “Immediately I saw dozens of people running out of their homes and office buildings.”
The quake caused some damage to buildings and infrastructure but nothing major, local authorities said. There were no immediate signs that the event had sparked a tsunami.