Two dead after powerful Costa Rica earthquake
updated 06:35
Published: 5:10AM Thursday September 06, 2012
Source: Reuters
-
Source: Reuters
Two people died during a powerful earthquake that rocked Costa
Rica today, one of them from a heart-attack, the Red Cross
said.
Freddy Roman, spokesman for the Red Cross in Costa Rica, said
there were no immediate details on the cause of the second death.
Local media reported a man was crushed under debris.
The quake's epicentre was in western Costa Rica about 140 km
from San Jose, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, and it was
felt as far away as Managua, the capital of neighboring Nicaragua.
The earthquake occurred at 2.42am NZT.
Residents of San Jose said phones went down, electricity poles
rattled on the streets and water flowed out of pools after the
7.6-magnitude quake.
Locals were shocked by the force of the quake.
"I was inside my car at a stop sign and all the sudden
everything started shaking. I thought the street was going to break
in two," said Erich Johanning, a 30-year-old who works in Internet
marketing in San Jose.
"Immediately I saw dozens of people running out of their homes
and office buildings."
The quake caused some damage to buildings and infrastructure but
nothing major, local authorities said. There were no immediate
signs that the event had sparked a tsunami.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued a warning for Pacific
coastlines of Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama. It had earlier
warned of tsunamis for as far afield as Mexico and Peru.
The New Zealand Ministry of Civil Defence said that although a
tsunami warning had been issued, there was no threat to New
Zealand.
The Guanacaste region around the epicentre is known for its
beaches, surf and volcanoes. It has several nature and marine
reserves and is less tropical than the rest of the Central American
nation, with stretches of open savannah and mountains.
"People are very frightened and staying in their homes," said
Eliecer Gonzalez, commercial director of a local newspaper in the
Guanacaste region. "We are very isolated and have no power."
There was an early report of damage to the Hotel Riu Guanacaste
on Matapalo beach in Guanacaste, situated on the extreme tip of the
Osa Peninsula.
But America Nava, a reservations clerk with Riu in Mexico, said
the hotel had only been evacuated. "There is no damage to the
hotel, they are checking it to make sure everything is in order. As
soon as that is finished, the guests will return."
"It was terrible. I was on the third floor, I had never felt
anything like it," said Stephanie Gonzalez, a 25-year-old masters
student in the Costa Rican capital.
It was the biggest earthquake in Costa Rica since a 7.6 quake in
1991 left 47 dead. More recently, 40 people died in a 6.1 magnitude
quake in January 2009.
No comments:
Post a Comment