Costa Rica endures strong earthquake; two deaths reported in national park

Two children who sold candy to tourists inside a national park in Costa Rica were killed today when a 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck the Central American nation.

The quake, whose epicenter was about 20 miles north of the capital city of San Jose, also injured several others.

The two girls were buried in a landslide within Poas National Volcano Park, Reuters news agency reported.

Several buildings in San Jose were damaged and local television footage showed buildings with shattered windows and damaged walls. There were no reports of widespread injuries.

Costa Rica is known for its natural beauty and abundance of wildlife, luring visitors from around the world. I've been there many times but only once was I concerned about natural disasters: while fishing Lake Arenal while its namesake volcano burped out rocks and rained ash upon my group.

My condolences to the victims' families and good wishes to anyone affected by the earthquake.

-- Pete Thomas

Photo: Scarlet macaws are among the many beautiful critters found in Costa Rica's national parks. Credit: Ron Magill

Comments

[News Review]

Our deepest condolences to the family of the two children who have died. This is such a sad event that opened the year of 2009. We hope and we pray that no more such disasters will follow.

[Guillermo]

News is saying 4 people dead; 3 children and 1 senior and at leas 10 to 15 people missed, some tourist from Netherlands among them.
Actually nothing happened in San Jose, the real problem is near Poas Volcano and Vara Blanca area where is Peace Lodge is located.

[Dennis Creason]

Our daughter Rishon Wagner lives in Grecia, Alajuela Costa Rica. She has reported via Yahoo messenger that the Quake in Costa Rica has killed 4 persons @the village of Sarapiqui, Alejuela, Costa Rica. Serapiqui is located very close to the Poas volcano. Rishon says her home has been swaying and that things have falling inside. She said there are continual tremblings and that Costa Rican news is reporting 400 people trapped in a hotel near POAS.

[Katherine Thompson]

I'm staying in the town of La Virgen, about 20km north of Poas. We had been rafting in the morning on the Rio Sarapiqui, and about 45 minutes after the quake were walking on a suspension bridge over the river when the river began to roar and turn from clear green to silty brown. We've heard that a hydroelectric dam upstream burst, and communities along the river were being warned to keep off the banks. The power was out for a few hours, but is back on now, about 7 hours after the quake. Local news has reported 2 girls missing, and is showing a lot of structures near the epicenter with severe damage.

[fernando]

hello from costa rica.
the damage is contained to a very small area.
we're at the beach and didn't even feel it.
the news -as all news always does- keeps on looping the same little bit of footage that they got trying to churn this story into oblivion. there is some damage, there unfortunately were four deaths (if you count the heart attack victim that happened to die shortly after) but as a whole the country of costa rica is doing very well. there is no need for any type of assistance. as far as natural disasters go this rates about a 1 in a scale of 10. cheers! (the weather is super perfect at the beach)

[Jennifer]

My parents have been affected by this earthquake and I cannot reach them. They called to say they were on a tour bus and help was due to come in a few days. The phone cut out at that moment. How can I help? Can anyone guide me as to where I can go to send help that can hopefully reach them? I feel like if they were told help will come in 3 to 4 days help is actually coming in a much longer time frame. Please, if anyone can guide me to an organization or business that can find them I would greatly appreciate it. I am beside myself, feeling I should have countless resources near me, but I cannot connect to anyone who will tell me anyting other than something pre-recorded/pre-written.

[Geoff]

My sister and her husband are helping the leatherbacks right now in Playa Grande, and I have no way of knowing if they're OK. Thank you to all the Costa Ricans for keeping us updated- I am worried!!!

[MArk Lugo]

It's keep shaking HARD in Curridabat. Power is good, telephone lines are up and down. The hard quick shakes are scary to say the least! Everybody OK so far on this end of SJ...

[Neyshmi Mora]

Being from Costa Rica these news are always a concern. I couldnt get a hold of my grandmother for a few hours and i thought I was going to be the one on the news from a heart attack. She is fine and im greateful to those who posted and took photos from costa rica. Thank you all, and becareful out there.....

[Federico]

I'm in the province of Heredia and can tell you that this was felt prety strong in Heredia, Alajuela and San Jose, but no damage to be concerned about happened in the cities. For all of you in the US concerned about your loved ones down here:

Everyone in the costal areas of Costa Rica probably learned about the earthquake when they saw it on the news. Most people didn't feel a thing in Guanacaste and Limon.

If your loved ones happened to be in the area within 20 miles around volcan Poas, there were several landslides that cut off roads and damaged edifications. Some people traped in between landslides on these roads might need to wait up to one day before they can be rescued, but I don't think much longer than that. There are helicopters flying those areas looking for people thay may need help, as well as red cross rescue parties by land.

[Lainie]

I just got off the phone from speaking with my uncle and aunt who live in San Jose and they are fine, although he said there is some road damage in the surrounding areas, but no power issues.

Also he has been living there for about 10 years and said it was the strongest he had ever felt since moving there. Said it lasted about 20 seconds of hard shaking. This may have been an aftershock, because he said there was a smaller quake yesterday, but today was VAVOOM. Autnie was still a little shook up, but he was calm.

[Pete Thomas]

I just got off the phone with Rishon Wagner, who lives in the mountains above Grecia--almost literally on the volcano!

She said aftershocks were continuing every 20 minutes or so. During the main quake her refrigerator crawled across the kitchen floor. She's from San Diego and has experienced many earthquakes, but nothing like this.

Deep down there's concern that the volcano might blow. This is just one of the things that pulsates through the mind when you experience a strong earthquake so close to a volcano, Rishon said.

She and her husband, and their two sons, were in good spirits, though, hopeful of a much calmer Friday for everybody. It's a universal wish.

[Jon W]

Some friends of ours in Grecia (NW of San Jose, and closer to the epicenter than the capital city) wrote saying that just a few things are broken in their house, but that the aftershocks seem very, very hard, unlike the gradual diminishing of strength of aftershocks in past quakes there (they've been through several). So they're a bit on edge. They said that there has been major, major damage at the La Paz/waterfall gardens north of them. What a pity, it's a beautiful, well laid-out park, with some of everything from the rain forest, from snakes, butterflies and frogs to other animals, birds, flowers and plants of every kind. Those creatures will just slither/ crawl/ fly their way back into the jungle, right there where they are...

[Chris Tiller]

Jeniffer: I am close to San Jose. If I can be of help please contact me
Chris

[William Chiueh]

Hello, my sister and her new husband are in costa rica for their honeymoon. My family and I are worried about them. They didn't leave us with details of where they were staying, although my sister told me when they got there that they were staying in a bungalow near a volcano. I pray that they are okay. Does anyone know if any tourists from the US were affected? Any input would be helpful. Thank you.

[danny v]

Have a friend living in the Quepos area in central costa rica, have there been any reports of damage there? Are the main highways from San Jose to Quepos still passable?

[Jackie]

A Costa Rican myself (with my whole family in CR) I just wanted to let everyone know that there are small earthquakes in CR every single day. Some are just not perceptible, but the country is always "shakin" -- It's nerve wrecking when we have the earthquakes happen, but there is something very comforting about Costa Ricans... they are very religious (faithful) people and they CARE about others' wellbeing very much. Jennifer, there is NO WAY that your family will be left out there whatsoever. If they were on a tour bus... you know there were others with them and their tour guides probably made contact with either officials or other locals (which is more effective sometimes) to come help them out. I would not worry. However, I think by the time you get this message, your parents will have already contacted you again.

If not... contact the U.S. Embassy in CR right away ... they really are very dedicated to their constituents in the country.

Blessings.... and "visit Costa RIca" the people are truly gems.

My condolences for those who did suffer directly from this quake and their families.

[silvia]

To the people who wants to know about their families, you can contact
channel 7 (Teletica) (506) 2232-2222 • 2296-2222 They can be a guide for you providing information. . This is their website : www.teletica.com I hope you hear from them very soon.

[Stephanie]

Hello and thank you all for sharing what information you have. My parents are traveling in Costa Rica with a tour group (Outdoor Adventure Travel) and I am trying to get information about whether or not this group was in the area affected by the earthquake at the time that it hit. If anyone has family or friends traveling with this group and has any information to share, I would greatly appreciate it!

[Cheryl]

Jennifer:
I am North American and live in the country during Winter months each year.
Though some homes and no doubt more people will be found tomorrow, it is my understanding that a large number of people are being taken care of at a tourist location in the mountains. The roads were distroyed on both sides of that mountain and they may be in that location for a few days. Helicopters showed it tonight on TV. There are all kinds of false reports, even here, so don't listen to anything you hear positively. The U.S.Embassy will take care of all tourist that are in the mountains. The issue is the roads and inability to get emergency vehicles in. We are having aftershocks... we have those all year anyway, they are stronger and unsettling but just calming down after the big quake. If your parents called from a bus, I heard some were on the highway up there but had to stay put because they could not travel. IF they should be at Waterfall Gardens its $300 a night and a nice place to wait out the events. Most everyone is shocked and shaken, but fine. There are no phone lines, elec or water up there but these major tourist places take care of people inlarge groups. Pray a little and give the country a day or two to figure out how to get the folks out of the area . What a story they will have to tell ! hopabout, Alajuela

[Cheryl]

Concerns: I keep reading concerns. 2nd letter
Ok, I live in alajuela. windows out, shaken up, we are ok. Hospital ok
ALL BEACHES OK. The roads are probably ok. But, not a problem at this time.
The news has been constant all afternoon.
The roads are out high on the mountain near Poas Volcano. Read the volcano/earthquake pages. I have learned that while we think there should be a connection, there is not. Its a fault... we have tons of them here.
They said this afternoon that the volcano has stayed calm though the entire event. That should be great news !
San Jose, the capital, has some building damage, no deaths except one heart attack. San Jose is not near Poas. Heredia, closer, all ok, no deaths reported at all. Alajuela near the airport is fine.

Residents and tourist that may have been up on that particular part of mountain near the volcano National Park can't walk because the roads are out... trees and dirt slides make it too difficult. TONS of rescue people are everywhere and working hard to get these trees out of the way, etc. Foreign tourist, the embassy will know more but they are on top of your families. This afternoon helicopters flew over and saw bridges out, etc. and assessed the damage, now tomorrow, they have to figure out, how to move those people out.

My daughter took a helicopter ride for her birthday..... loved it. Though this is a rescue mission, they may have an awesome view of what has happened on their way back to the valley. One report said 200, another said 400 another said 1,000. There are NOT 1,000 tourist up there... no way.
Though a little shaken, I imagine the vast majority of people that are up there are unified, making friends and sharing stories while they wait for pick up.... hang on guys... they are on the way.

Hope this helps you. oh... there are several volcanos where people may stay. One person said bungalow near a volcano.... that could be Arenal.... way off from here. tons of hotels around it. I bet its that one. /hopabout

[Sandy~MsSmurfy]

We hope all our Tico/Tica friends are doing well following the earth-shaking experience! Our prayers & thoughts are with you all~ PURA~VIDA!
Anyone have actual map info defining the earthquake areas would be helpful to those of us who 'wonder'! Thank you for all the posts in effort to put minds at ease!

[ticocat]

I live in the western suburbs of San Jose - very strong shaking here, with many aftershocks late into the night, some structural damage. Beach areas seem unaffected.

As others have said, most damage is close to the epicenter, near Poas Volcano - latest reports say 14 dead, several hundred tourists isolated near La Paz waterfall due to inaccessible roads. Tourist ministry claims tourists there are safe; helicopter evacuations are in progress.

For more info, ck these 2 English language sites:
http://www.amcostarica.com/
http://insidecostarica.com/

or the main (Spanish) newspaper:
http://www.nacion.com/

[Paula]

Our daughter is spending 3 weeks in Costa Rica. We got an email from her on Wednesday saying she was in Pavones, but haven't heard from her since then. Does anyone know if Hwy 34 or the Pan American Hwy is still open from Pavones to San Jose? Does Pavones still have internet service?

We thought we'd hear from her by now if she was okay and able to travel back to San Jose for her flight home. Our hearts go out to all of the people who have lost home and loved ones. You are in our prayers! Jennifer, have you heard from your parents?
Paula

[Bob]

Our hearts go out to the people of Costa Rica. We loved visiting that country!

Here are a couple web links to maps and further information about the earthquake:

Earthquake information:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2009bpba.php#maps

Google map:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=10.197+-84.159(M6.1+-+COSTA+RICA+-+2009+January+08++19%3A21%3A34+UTC)&ll=10.197,-84.159&spn=2,2&f=d&t=h&hl=e