Pacific Tsunami Warning Center Archives

Strong Earthquake Strikes Western Costa Rica

September 6, 2012 Guest Author

According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, at 8:42 AM local time this morning (14:42 UTC), a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck a sparsely populated region of western Costa Rica approximately 150 km west of San José , the nation’s capital and largest city (approximate population 365,800 as of 2006). The earthquake, initially estimated at a magnitude of 7.9, struck at a depth of 40 kilometers. Though the size of the quake prompted the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center to issue a tsunami warning for Pacific coastlines of Costa Rica, Nicaragua and…

Magnitude 8.6 Earthquake Off Sumatra Triggers Tsunami Warning But Causes Little Damage

April 12, 2012 Guest Author

BOSTON, April 11, 2012 – According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, this morning, a M8.6 earthquake struck off the west coast of Northern Sumatra, approximately 434 km southwest of Banda Aceh, the closest population center. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake occurred at 2:38 PM local time (8:38:37 UTC) and struck at a depth of 22.9 kilometers. The main shock was followed by a series of moderate aftershocks until a little more than two hours later, when a M8.2 aftershock struck 618 km south-southwest of…