On Saturday Morning a Shallow M6.2 Earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean near Liberia (Costa Rica).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on October 12th, 2024. Last updated October 15th, 2024.

A shallow and strong MAG-6.2 earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean 82 kilometer from Liberia, Costa Rica around noon of Saturday October 12th, 2024. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 4.2 million people. Other countries near the epicenter include Nicaragua and Honduras.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 37 kilometers (23 mi) off the coast of Costa Rica, 82 kilometer west-southwest of Liberia in Guanacaste. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 16 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Oct 12, 2024 11:43AM (Costa Rica Time) - Oct 12, 2024 17:43 Universal Time.
Location:	183 km south of Managua, Nicaragua. Coordinates 10°29'13"N 86°10'16"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.2 Detected by 110 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.03 .
Depth:	16 km (10 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VI Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 96% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 4.2 million people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 4.2 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is V, which corresponds with moderate shaking and very light damage. Roughly 35,030 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 2.9 million). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected.

People in 2 countries have been exposed to shaking. In Costa Rica , around 1.3 million people, with impact levels up to V (moderate shaking, very light damage). Roughly 2.9 million people were exposed to shaking in Nicaragua .

Nearby towns and cities

Costa Rica , Nicaragua and Honduras are all located within 300km distance of the epicenter of the earthquake. Futher away, this earthquake may also have been felt in El Salvador.

Located 82 kilometer (51 mi) west-southwest of the epicenter of this earthquake, Liberia (Guanacaste, Costa Rica) is the nearest significant population center. The intensity of shaking and damage in Liberia is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Managua is located 183 km to the north and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). San José is located 237 km to the east-southeast (intensity unknown, possibly low). Masaya is located 166 km to the north and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage).

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is V.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Shaking reported by 55 people in 3 countries

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 55 people have reported shaking in 20 places in 3 countries (Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica).We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Sardinal, Guanacaste, Costa Rica: 18 people.
• Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, Costa Rica: 9 people.
• Belén, Guanacaste, Costa Rica: 4 people.
• Jacó, Puntarenas, Costa Rica: 3 people.
• Sámara, Guanacaste, Costa Rica: 3 people.
• San Juan del Sur, Rivas, Nicaragua: 2 people.
• Tilarán, Guanacaste, Costa Rica: 2 people.
• Liberia, Guanacaste, Costa Rica: 2 people.
• Cuitláhuac, Veracruz, Mexico: 1 person.
• Ipís, San José, Costa Rica: 1 person.

65 Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 65 smaller aftershocks were detected. At a distance of 28 km (18 mi) east-northeast of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 34 mins later. It measured a magnitude of 4.9

This main shock was prefaced by 5 smaller foreshocks. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 21 hrs earlier. It measured a magnitude of 4.5

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.

The chance that a significant earthquake like this one is followed by an even larger earthquake is not so large. On average, scientists estimate a 94% chance that a major earthquake will not be followed by an even larger one. It is still adviced to be aware of this risk

Earthquakes like this are common in the region

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since April 21st, 2022, when a 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit 147 km (91 mi) further northwest. That was also the heaviest earthquake to hit the region in the past 10 years.

In total, 4 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.2 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 3 years.

Low tsunami risk

Based on early data it appears this earthquake was not strong enough (lower than MAG-6.5) to be likely to cause destructive tsunami's. However this earthquake appeared to have hit at a shallow depth under sea, so stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Sources

Last updated 15/10/24 16:38 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000nyau
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20241012_0000136
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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