Costa Rica earthquake - New York News | NYC Breaking News

A Tsunami Warning was issued for the Pacific region after a large earthquake off of the coast of Costa Rica.

The Magnitude 7.6 earthquake hit the Central American country at about 8:42 a.m. on Wednesday morning.   The epicenter was about 38 miles from Liberia and about 88 miles from San Jose.

The quake was also felt in Nicaragua, Panama, and El Salvador.

Very strong shaking was felt in Santa Ana, Costa Rica.  There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries but officials were having trouble reaching people near the epicenter because phone lines were down.

The warning was up for Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru.   A Tsunami Watch was in Effect For Chile.

It was not known if there actually was a tsunami but the warnings and watch were issued as a precaution.

An earlier Tsunami Watch for the entire Caribbean region was canceled.

The USGS says the quake, beneath the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica, occurred as the result of thrust faulting on or near the subduction zone interface between the Cocos and Caribbean plates. At the latitude of this earthquake, the Cocos plate moves north-northeast with respect to the Caribbean plate at a velocity of approximately 77 mm per year, and subducts beneath Central America at the Middle America Trench.

Over the past 40 years, that region has experienced approximately 30 earthquakes with a Magnitude of 6 or greater; two of these were larger than Magnitude 7.