A strong earthquake, measuring 6.5 according to a US seismological agency, rocked Costa Rica late Sunday, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The quake occurred at 8:28 pm local (0228 GMT) on the Central American country's Pacific coast, at a depth of 20 kilometers (12 miles), close to the popular tourist beach town of Jaco.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue a tsunami alert. Several aftershocks were felt.

"We don't have report of any tragic situations from the recent earthquake," the public security ministry said on Twitter.

In the inland capital San Jose, buildings swayed for a couple of minutes. Local media reported that the quake was strongly felt across much of the country.

One network, Channel 6, showed the studio of a sports program that was live at the time, with the camera and the table shaking. It also showed images of alarmed people running in a supermarket as products fell to the ground.

While power was largely unaffected, there were reports of some areas losing electricity and cellphone transmission.

Media in neighboring Panama and Nicaragua said the earthquake was felt on their territories too, but no damage was detected.

Costa Rican officials urged citizens to avoid clogging the emergency lines by not calling 911 unless it was to give information about an urgent situation.

"We remind you to remain calm," the presidency said on its official Twitter feed.

Tweet

6.5-magnitude quake hits PNG
Sydney (AFP) Nov 7, 2017
A 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck Papua New Guinea on Wednesday, according to officials, but there were no immediate reports of damage. The tremor hit at a depth of 107 kilometres (66 miles) some 67 kilometres from the town of Angoram, the administrative centre for the Pacific nation's Lower and Middle Sepik regions, the United States Geological Survey said. No tsunami warning was issued ... read more

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only