Magnitude-7.6 quake off Costa Rica, tsunami warning lifted
Washington/San Jose - A strong earthquake off the west coast of Costa Rica caused some damage to some homes and roads and prompted a tsunami warning that was lifted within few hours, US officials said Wednesday.
The US Geological Survey later downgraded the strength of the earthquake to 7.6 magnitude from an earlier estimate of 7.9. The quake occurred at 1442 GMT about 8 kilometres north-east of Samara and 151 kilometres west of the capital San Jose.
No one was reported injured, the Red Cross said, and damage caused by the quake in Costa Rica was believed to be relatively minor. In the Nicoya peninsula, a tourist favourite near the quake's epicentre, some homes were damaged, as was a court building. School lessons were suspended.
Some roads suffered damage and people in San Jose poured onto the streets in panic. Land and mobile telephone lines, internet lines and power were cut off in some areas of the country including the capital.
Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla called the population to remain calm.
In Nicaragua, thousands of people on the Pacific coast were evacuated for fear of a tsunami.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Peru and a tsunami watch for Chile. All tsunami warnings were lifted within a few hours.
The centre did not say whether a tsunami had been generated, only that the possibility for the destructive waves existed given the size of the quake.//DPA
