JOIN USA powerful, magnitude-7.6 earthquake shook Costa Rica today. There were no immediate accounts of damage or injuries.
The USGS said the 8:42 AM quake struck about 60 kilometers from the town of Liberia and 141 kilometers west of the capital, San Jose. It was centered about 41 kilometers below the surface, In the coastal town of Nosara in northwest Costa Rica, trees shook violently and light posts swayed.
Teachers chased primary school students outside.
A tsunami warning was in effect for Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Peru and a tsunami watch was in effect for Chile, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a bulletin.
It said it was unknown if a tsunami was generated, but the warning was based on the size of the earthquake.