On Monday Night a Shallow M4.9 Earthquake struck near San José in Costa Rica.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on August 24th, 2026. Last updated August 25th, 2026.

A shallow MAG-4.9 earthquake struck under land 20 kilometer from San José in Costa Rica in the night of Monday August 24th, 2026. Other countries near the epicenter include Panama and Nicaragua.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Costa Rica, 20 kilometer (12 mi) east of San José. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Aug 24, 2026 01:37AM (Costa Rica Time) - Aug 24, 2026 07:37 Universal Time.
Location:	20 km east of San José, Costa Rica. Coordinates 9°59'7"N 83°54'48"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 4.9 Detected by 177 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.042 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake, it appears to have occurred under land with a magnitude not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake struck within proximity of multiple countries. Costa Rica , Panama and Nicaragua are all within 300km distance of its epicenter.

Located 12 kilometer (7 mi) east of the epicenter of this earthquake, Ipís (San José, Costa Rica) is the nearest significant population center.

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below.

Overview of nearby places

Shaking reported by 83 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 83 people have reported shaking in 40 places, all within 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:

• San José, San José, Costa Rica: 9 people.
• Ipís, San José, Costa Rica: 5 people.
• Curridabat, San José, Costa Rica: 4 people.
• Concepción, San José, Costa Rica: 4 people.
• Salitral, San José, Costa Rica: 4 people.
• San Antonio de Desamparados, San José, Costa Rica: 4 people.
• Alajuela, Alajuela, Costa Rica: 3 people.
• San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica: 3 people.
• Escazú, San José, Costa Rica: 3 people.
• Guadalupe, San José, Costa Rica: 3 people.

3 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 3 smaller aftershocks. Just 1 min after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-4.6 was detected 6 km (4 mi) northwest of this earthquake.

This main shock was prefaced by 6 smaller foreshocks. Roughly 2 days before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-3.2 was detected nearby this earthquake.

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 happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since August 10th, 2026, when a 4.9 magnitude earthquake hit 251 km (156 mi) further southwest. An even stronger magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck on November 13th, 2017.

In total, 78 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.9 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 2 months.

Tsunami very unlikely

While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Sources

Last updated 25/08/26 00:08 (). 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 us6000tn2j
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260824_0000113
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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