Powerful quake rocks Costa Rica
A powerful, magnitude-7.6 earthquake shook Costa Rica and a wide swath of Central America today, collapsing some houses, blocking roads and causing panic.
There was only one reported death, from a heart attack.
The US Geological Survey said the quake was centred about 60 kms from the town of Liberia. The magnitude initially was estimated at 7.9, but was quickly downgraded. Local residents said it shook for about 30 seconds.
While officials cancelled an initial tsunami warning, local police said about 5,000 people – 80% of the population – had been evacuated from coastal towns in the Samara district west of the quake’s centre several hours after the quake struck.
They said water was receding from the shore. One man died of a heart attack caused by fright but there were no reports of deaths directly caused by the quake.
The quake was also felt in neighbouring Nicaragua, which shut schools in some areas, and in Panama.
