Two moderate earthquakes rattle Costa Rica

A moderate earthquake jolted residents in Cartago and San José provinces at 8:45 a.m. Saturday. No damage was reported.

The National University’s Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (OVSICORI) reported the temblor as a magnitude-4.6. The University of Costa Rica’s National Seismological Network (RSN) registered a magnitude of 4.5.

Both agencies reported the epicenter in the province of Cartago, 17 kilometers east of Turrialba canton. The quake struck at a depth of 19 kilometers and was felt across most of the Central Valley.

People reported via OVSICORI’s and RSN’s social media accounts that the temblor as “very strong” in the Cartago communities of Agua Caliente, Turrialba, Tejar and Tres Ríos. Reports from San José came mostly from residents east of the capital in Curridabat, Zapote, San Pedro and Patarrá.

At 10:03 a.m. a magnitude-2.8 earthquake hit the same area, its epicenter located 5 kilometers west of the first one. The later quake, however, went mostly unnoticed by people in the area, according to preliminary reports from OVISCORI and RSN.