M5.0 earthquake 44 km SSE of Quepos, Costa Rica

Thursday, September 10, 2026, 08:26:53 UTC · 9.057°N, 84.017°W

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 44 km SSE of Quepos, Costa Rica on Thursday, September 10, 2026, 08:26:53 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). USGS received 8 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IV (light). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.2 on July 7, 2026.

Magnitude: 5.0; Moderate · mww
Depth: 10 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 8; Max intensity IV
Est. shaking: —; No ShakeMap
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

477 tons of TNT

That is about 1/32 of the Hiroshima bomb. Each whole step in magnitude is about 32 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

63 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Cocos and Panama plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

10 km

Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.

Did You Feel It?

Where it was felt

Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.

Place	Intensity	Reports	Distance
Quepos, Puntarenas, Costa Rica	IV · Light	1	46 km
Esparta, Puntarenas, Costa Rica	III · Weak	1	126 km
Golfito, Puntarenas, Costa Rica	III · Weak	1	104 km
San Vicente, San José, Costa Rica	II · Weak	1	101 km
Palmares, Alajuela, Costa Rica	II · Weak	1	48 km
Desamparados, San José, Costa Rica	II · Weak	1	94 km
Jacó, Puntarenas, Costa Rica	I · Not felt	1	92 km
San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica	I · Not felt	1	97 km

I felt it — report to USGS ↗

USGS PAGER estimate

Who was exposed to shaking

USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.

After the main event

Aftershocks within 75 km

USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km since this event; the largest was M4.6 on September 10, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

4.628 km S of Quepos, Costa Rica16d ago · 19 km NW of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 461 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 49 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 910 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1910M6.4
Cartago, San Jose
4 May 1910 · 105 km away
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1991M7.6
Limon, Pandora; Panama
22 Apr 1991 · 125 km away · intensity X
90 deaths$510 million damagetsunami
1952
Costa Rica
30 Dec 1952 · 149 km away
29 deaths
1973M6.5
Tilaran, Arenal, Rio Chiquito
14 Apr 1973 · 198 km away
26 deathsUnder $1 million damage
2009M6.1
La Paz
8 Jan 2009 · 125 km away
23 deaths$502 million damage
1955M5.8
Costa Rica
1 Sep 1955 · 117 km away
10 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers