Magnitude-4.6 temblor jolts Costa Rica

A late-night earthquake was felt across the country, mainly in Costa Rica’s Central Valley, at 12:56 a.m., with an epicenter at Palmares, in the province of Alajuela, and a depth of 69.8 kilometers, according to preliminary reports by the National Seismological Network (RSN) at the University of Costa Rica.

The strong quake was felt by many residents of the San José greater metropolitan area. Residents of the provinces of Cartago, Heredia, Alajuela, San José, Puntarenas and Guanacaste also reported the quake to the RSN.

The Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (Ovsicori) reported the temblor at a magnitude-4.9, 5 kilometers east of San Ramón, Alajuela. Ovsicori also reported a magnitude-2.5 aftershock at 1:10 a.m. with an epicenter in Golfito, in the Pacific province of Puntarenas.

According to the National Emergency Commission, no damage has been reported so far.

The quake was registered near the epicenter of a magnitude-6.0 temblor that occured March 6, 1992, known as the “Naranjo Earthquake,” the RSN reported.