Costa Rican Earthquake Threatens to Trigger Tsunami

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Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 12:03 PM EDT, 5 September 2012

Costa Rica Earthquake, Photo by Hands 4 HopeSAN JOSE, Costa Rica - At 10:42 am a powerful magnitude-7.6 earthquake rocked the Costa Rican country side about 140 km (87 miles) west of the capital, San Jose.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USG) which tracks earthquake activity around the world reported that the quake rocked Costa Rica on Wednesday, rattling buildings and cutting power in some areas. Resident s reported that water flowed out of pools during the quake.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning to include only Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua. Though the epicenter of the quake was in western Costa Rica it was felt as far away as Managua, the capital of neighboring Nicaragua.

The last major earthquake in Costa Rica was a 6.1 magnitude quake in 2009, which killed 40 people, according to the USGS.

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