Updated on Monday, Nov. 13 to include information about a third death related to the earthquake.
Three deaths have now been reported in the wake of the earthquake that shook Costa Rica at 8:28 pm Sunday evening, with an epicenter approximately 15 km southwest of the Central Pacific beach town of Esterillos.
Channel 7 News, Telenoticias, reported that all of the deaths appear to have been caused by heart attacks during the quake. The two victims in Jacó, close to the epicenter, were a 56-year-old woman and 54-year-old man. A 25-year-old man in Coronado, just outside of San José, complained that he was not feeling well after the earthquake and appears to have suffered a heart attack on the way to the hospital, according to Telenoticias.
Reports of the magnitude of the first quake varied from source to source. The National University’s Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (OVISCORI) reported its magnitude as 6.9. However, the U.S. Geological Survey reported a magnitude of 6.5.
OVISCORI reported more than 20 aftershocks throughout the night, including a 5.1 and 4.1 minutes after the first quake.
The Costa Rican Firefighters Corps indicated on Twitter that it had inspected the Mall San Pedro in San José because of reports of cracks in its walls following the quake. Firefighters found damage to the floors and walls on the fifth floor, the Tweet stated. It is unclear whether the building will open on Monday.
See videos and photos from the quake here.
Tico Times readers reported feeling the quake very strongly in the Central Valley, where buildings swayed and some residents headed out into the streets, and as far away as Puerto Viejo de Limón on the opposite coast. Readers in Guanacaste who sent comments immediately following the quake said they felt little to no effects.
A reader in the Jacó area, near the epicenter of the major quake and two aftershocks, said that people there had reported artwork and other objects falling from the walls and breaking. A reader from Playa Hermosa, even closer to the epicenter, reported that while the experience was certainly terrifying, electricity was still on and no damage was visible from her vantage point.
