Magnitude 5.9 earthquake strikes near Nicoya, Provincia de Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Just 13 minutes ago, a 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck near Nicoya, Provincia de Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The tremor was recorded after midnight on Wednesday, April 15th, 2026, at 12:56 am local time, at a shallow depth of 23. km below the surface.
The event was filed by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the first seismological agency to report it.
A second report was later issued by the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), which listed it as a magnitude 5.9 earthquake as well. A third agency, France's Réseau National de Surveillance Sismique (RéNaSS), reported the same quake at magnitude 5.1.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc.
In Tamarindo (pop. 6,400) located 53 km from the epicenter, Santa Cruz (pop. 12,300) 77 km away, Nicoya (pop. 15,300) 89 km away, and Liberia (pop. 45,400) 111 km away, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.

Earthquake data:
Date & time: Apr 15, 2026 06:56 am (Universal Time) local time (15 Apr 2026 06:56 GMT)
Magnitude: 6.0
Depth: 23.00 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 10.05°N / 86.26°W (Costa Rica)
Primary data source: EMSC
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquake/news/299999/Magnitude-59-earthquake-strikes-near-Nicoya-Provincia-de-Guanacaste-Costa-Rica.html