A 7.6 magnitude earthquake rocked Costa Rica on Wednesday and also prompted officials to issue a tsunami warning for two nearby countries.
The large quake struck about 19 miles from Santa Cruz and 87 miles west of the capital, San Jose.
A tsunami warning was issued for Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua. Warnings were also issued for several other nearby countries, but were later cancelled, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
“It is not known that a tsunami was generated,” the tsunami warning center said. “This warning is based only on the earthquake evaluation. An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines in the region near the epicenter within minutes to hours. Authorities in the region should take appropriate action in response to this possibility.”
Reuters reported that the earthquake knocked out power in some areas. It wasn’t immediately known how many people may have been injured as a result of the quake.
A hotel worker told The Associated Press that “everybody is crying a lot.” She also told the news agency that “telephone lines are saturated.”
According to the USGS, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck Costa Rica in 2009, killing 40 people.
