6.2 earthquake near San Jose, Costa Rica
 

Hope all residents and visitors are okay. Very little info out right now. That's a very good sized one.

Not much information thus far, but it seems to have hit north-west of San Jose, close to the Poas Volcano national park.

My friend just wrote from San Jose, said some buildings are damaged with shattered windows, cracked walls/ceilings. Aftershocks are still being felt, a few roads closed due to landslides outside of the city.

He said some governmental buildings were being evacuated.

BBC reported it was the strongest quake in 30 years.

Epicenter was up near Poas Volcano.

Yikes! We are leaving for Costa Rica next Wednesday and are staying at Poas Volcano Lodge that evening. I hope everything is okay there. More importantly, though, I hope the people are all okay, as tully said.

My friend said there had been no reported injuries and it was felt across the country.

We will be at Poas, too - glad I wasn't there today and hope the damage is minimal everywhere that has been affected.

Country jolted by major quake

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

(Posted at 2:05 p.m. and updated at 3:55 p.m.)

A 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit north of the Central Valley this afternoon at 1:21 p.m. and set streets and buildings in motion. There were injuries, and in the late afternoon a child and a man were reported to have died in the community of Vara Blanca not far from the quake epicenter.

The quake endured for at least 20 seconds and was followed by a number of aftershocks, some of which were felt. The shocks continued past 3 p.m. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was 35 kilometers (22 miles) northwest of San José. the exact estimated coordinates were 10.22 degrees north and 84.28 degrees west, said the survey. The event was estimated to be 28 kilometers (about 17 miles) deep.

The Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Costa Rica said the quake happened about 6 kilometers east of Volcán Poás, about four miles, but experts dismissed the idea that the event had any relation to volcanic activity.

The Cruz Roja in Alajuela said there was at least one death and injuries in that province and that some buildings had suffered damage. The epicenter appeared to be in east central part of the province north of the city of the same name. The child died in Poás de Alajuela, according to the Cruz Roja. The cause was a quake-provoked landslide, they said.

There were no details on the reported death of a man, although that is believed to have happened in the same general area.

The quake followed a 4.6 mid-morning quake off the coast of Nicaragua and one Wednesday near the Poás volcano, not far from today's quake.

The afternoon quake was felt all over Costa Rica. The Arenal automatic earthquake showed that the quake lasted an incredible six minutes there. Many other automatic stations were off line when the quake hit.

Both major television stations interrupted regular programming with bulletins, but information was a long time in coming. Stations had internal monitor

This is the seismographic display from the automatic monitoring station near Volcán Arenal. The initial quake is in red, and the other, smaller marks are aftershocks.

footage of the quake rattling their facilities. The quake hit in the middle of afternoon news shows.

A reporter said that a street in northeast San José visibly cupped and rocked back and forth for the duration of the quake. Elsewhere, occupants poured out of office buildings. There were some reports of falling objects and cracks in buildings, but Fuerza Pública officers said they had had no calls in the San José area. The national emergency commission declared a red alert in the four central provinces of San José, Heredia, Alajeula and Cartago.

Many workers declined to reenter their workplaces for fear of more damage from aftershocks. An attitude of carnival developed in some areas. Several structures, including Hospital México in San José and Centro Colón in the downtown are believed to have suffered damage to the upper floors.

A crack appeared in the exterior walls of an office building downtown occupied by the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad.

A Desamparados resident south of San José said the floor of her home cracked and that the concrete sink used for washing clothes in a neighbor's home collapsed.

I just talked to a friend in San Jose on MSN. Its a big deal. Lots of aftershocks. Roads blocked etc.

For those of you interested and speak Spanish - time into to one of the Costa rica radio stations. I am listening to Radio Monumental
http://www.monumental.co.cr/

I think the radio said that 2 little girls were killed.

raquel

One thing that the commentator mentioned was that a lot of tourists were stranded at Vara Blanca. (roads blocked etc0 And sort of the spooky thing is that I had just read shillmac's post about Vara Blanca and the French restaurant and the commentator when talking about Vara Blanca specifically mentioned her French friends who had a restaurant in the area.

raquel

Sounds like as more news comes in, damage is much more severe northwest of San Jose than what was originally thought.

Rodolfo said the phone and internet systems collapsed for an hour but both were back up fairly quickly. When he wrote me an hour after it hit, they were still experiencing aftershocks in San Jose.

Both international airports were closed for about 20 minutes for an evaluation of the runways but are now working normally.

My heart goes out to those who have been affected.

The just talked to someone who works at the La Paz Waterfall Gardens and Hotel (I guess its the Peace Lodge). She says about 400 people are stranded there - no roads no electricity. etc. They are talking about trying to get helecopters to evacuate the people from there.
raquel

Sorry
I mean they -the radio station that is - talked to someone at La Paz.

I hate to hear that; I can't imagine how scary that must have been. We were just there a few months ago.

Wow--this is incredible. Our friends are due to leave for CR (Peace Lodge first stop) early next week.

I can't even imagine what it must be like there. My heart goes out to everyone, residents and tourists alike.

You know, in looking at the possibility of building a home there, we discussed with the builder last week all the earthquake proof building techniques and materials that would be used. It all seemed so matter-of-fact at the time; now it seems so troubling.

I think the last really big one was 1991 in Limon province.

When coming home from work today, a car ran a red light on a highway I was crossing. I hadn't looked back that direction as I usually do. But I sensed something and braked--it whizzed by just inches from me going about 60mph. I would have been broadsided on my side. I don't know why I felt compelled to tell that story--life is just so unpredictable.

Thanks, everyone, for posting as you receive information. Keep it up!

My Tica student that I host while she attends LSU said two young children were killed while selling candy up at the entrance to Poas. Sadly, they were buried in a landslide. The link below has the story and a few photos from Reuters:

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N08440729.htm

On a lighter note her 4 year old niece was just getting out of the shower when the quake hit and couldn't figure out why she was being pulled back in from the force of the shock waves. Her mom grabbed her, wrapped her in a towel and ran her outside. Poor baby then couldn't understand why she was outside with no clothes on!

Luckily their home and grocery store were undamaged.

Per earthquake in Costa Rica, I'm the dad of Micah Wonnenberg, member of a short-term study group there from the University of South Dakota. Any news about how the Dakotans are faring? Daddeo

I sure felt the earthquake, the hotel was swaying a bit but I was shocked how long it lasted. Felt them here before but nothing like that. Called some friends in Dominical and they didnt even notice it. Just depends where you are in Costa Rica. Hope everyone is ok!

was anyone else able to get the radio broadcast at the link Raquel z posted?
I tried, but first got a message that said in Spanish to upgrade from Firefox 3.0 to 9.3 or greater (don't think that even exists) and then took me to the web page where I wasn't able to get any broadcasts.

Would like to though . .

I certainly hope that the damage turns out to be minor and there are few injuries, but I am trying to figure out what to do since I leave on Saturday and our first stop is supposed to be Peace Lodge for two nights. Their phone is not being answered right now, so I assume the report of a power outage is correct.

Does anyone have any suggestions for an alternative for our first two nights? We are supposed to go to Arenal on Monday.

Thanks for any help, and again this is certainly more terrible for the people of Costa Rica than my vacation. I do wish the people of Costa Rica affected by the earthquake the best.

I am so glad this was posted - I hadn't seen anything on the internet about it. So sad about the little girls who were killed. I have not ever experienced an earthquake; would imagine it is a very unsettling and scary experience.

Daddeo, hope you get some information soon. This is terrible for the residents of Costa Rica to deal with, but it has to be very worrisome for those who have loved ones currently traveling there.

A couple from my hometown in Michigan run a B&B in the SJ suburb of Santa Ana, and are ok, but two of their guests from Nova Scotia went to La Paz Waterfall Garden for the day. They haven't heard from them and are very worried, said there is great damage up there, no power or phone service to that area.

Traveler318 - you might want to call some of the other hotels nearer the airport (very little damage around there) or at Arenal and explain your situation, see if you can reserve a room contingent on Peace Lodge's situation. With this crisis perhaps some of the other hotels will be a little more flexible in case you do cancel out on them for your original plan. Orquideas Inn, Pura Vida, Trapp Family Lodge are just a few near the airport.

Thanks. I just heard from my driver who said the road is impassible and that we should book alternative arrangements. I was able to get a room at the Marriott, no problem, so we will have a place to sleep. I can cancel it, and will try to find one night at something more Costa Rican and add a night at Arenal. Thanks for the recommendations.

Xandari gets a lot of good reviews; you might check there.

Those pictures are really scary. I feel really bad for folks who are there. Best of luck to everyone in your travels and for the people who live there.

traveler318:

You may want to look into doing a Pacuare rafting tour. It would be a perfect day excursion.

Glover,
They are now back to normal programing - music etc. When I tried it did tell me to upgrade to IE 7 - but then it let me past there. Maybe try this - its the direct link - for me it pops up ina media player.
http://www.monumental.co.cr/asx/monumental.asx

Yes - it really is scary to think that it is places that so many of us have been to or are going to or have friends. Hopefully they will not find more casualties.

raquel

Someone on another forum reported that the main road north of Varablanca is completely gone in places, and that the Peace Lodge itself has been destroyed.

Is this possible?

Thanks, raquel, that other link worked and, as it happens, it was 11pm news and they were talking earthquake - just wish they didn't talk so FAST!!!! I think my Spanish is ok, until I'm reminded it's not ..

Thanks for all the updates. Frustrating the lack of coverage. Very sad to hear of the two children, very sad.

The missing Canadian couple mentioned are very close friends of ours. We are anxiously awaiting word on their safety. My husband received a call tonight from the Canadian Consulate reporting them missing and we spoke with the B&B owner. We have been frantically searching for news all night but there's not a whole lot out there -just the same repetitive stories. I'll keep checking this board - It was a great source of information when we planned our family trip to CR last March. I'd really appreciate any links or news you may come across. We were told they had called off searches for the night - it will be a long night of worry ahead but hopefully good news will come in the morning.

I got an email from Berni, owner of Pura Vida Hotel in Alejuela. For anyone headed there, he said the Volcano room sustained serious damage - but all else is well there. I just hope that others have fared as well. The lack of current reports is very frustrating.

Unfortunately Tico Times reports a third child was killed, a teenager who was in her home which was buried in a landslide. Doesn't mention Peace Lodge by name, but says 300 people still stranded.

http://www.ticotimes.net/daily.htm#story1

This seems to be getting bigger and bigger as little Pieces of news come out. Very worrisome for the residents and visitors to that area.

Has anyone heard anything on any of the U.S. media sources? Seems a little odd to me. . I guess it isn't a "big enough" news event. I'm afraid it will eventually be.

Will be making calls this evening trying to get more info. It really sounds like they don't even know down there the extent since roads are blocked and lines are down.

As for Peace Lodge, I pray that it has not been destroyed with all those guests in that immediate area. Traveler, it won't be a big deal to change the first part of your itinerary. It isn't anything like the Peace Lodge area, but you might consider staying in the city and doing a couple of days down to the Irazu/Orosi Valley area. Pacuare an excellent idea as well.

More quakes are being predicted. Is that common other than the usual after quakes? That concerns me as well.

I just received this update: SAN JOSE - The death toll from a powerful earthquake in Costa Rica rose to 14 Friday when rescue workers found the bodies of 10 more people near the epicenter of the 6.1-magnitude tremor, the Red Cross said.

I haven't heard a thing on American media about the quake and have been relying on Tico friends and internet for info. I guess this isn't large enough for our media to notice - hard to believe, but some people do not focus on Costa Rica the way we do on this forum!

I hope there won't be more quakes. There was a smaller one on Wednesday, never heard anything about it until this larger one hit.

www.amcostarica.com has some good updated information.

In the touristic area of La Paz Waterfall Gardens, at least 200 employees and about 200 other visitors and tourists were trapped and isolated at the La Paz Peace Lodge and Waterfall gardens, which according to an employee who communicated with Amelia Rueda, was completely destroyed, although no people died. You can hear the audio and read an account of the earthquake at Amelia's blog, as well as later reports of private helicopters charging tourists for taking them away from disaster areas.

Outside the city, near the towns of Vara Blanca, Poasito, Cinchona and Fraijanes, landslides have already claimed the lives of two young girls and a family of five, and it is suspected that tomorrow, as day breaks, more deadly victims will be found. Material damage is substantial, as buildings collapsed, and many roads dissapeared in landslides that may have taken with them cars, buses and houses. The earthquake also brought flooding down the river banks as a result of so much dirt and organic matter falling into them. In total, the damage caused by the earthquake, flooding and landslides is still impossible to predict according to the Costa Rican Red Cross.

Yea... our Canadian friends have been found safe - they were hiking near the waterfalls. That is all we know for now. We'll keep our best wishes for everyone still missing.

Any news, folks, about the students from the University of South Dakota? My son Micah Wonnenberg is among them. They hope to fly back this wkend. Hope they're safe. Thanks! Daddeo

Does anyone know if Poas Volcano Lodge was affected? I would imagine so since it is so close to the epicenter. We are supposed to stay there Wednesday night after flying into San Jose so I am wondering if we should just head to Arenal instead. Any suggestions?

Very scary - I feel so sorry for all those who were affected. It seems so selfish to be worrying about my vacation plans right now...

Daddeo, I hope you hear something soon and let us know when you do.
I

Sessa:

I would avoid anything having to do with the Poas area and just head straight to Arenal.