Update: Massive earthquake rocks Costa Rica

AP — A powerful, magnitude-7.6 earthquake shook Costa Rica and a wide swath of Central America today, collapsing some houses, blocking highways and causing panic, but there were no immediate reports of deaths.

The USGS said the 8.42 a.m. quake struck about 38 miles or 60 kilometers from the town of Liberia. It was centered about 25 miles or 41 kilometers below the surface.

The magnitude initially was estimated at 7.9.

In the town of Hojancha near the epicenter, city official Kenia Campos said the quake knocked down some houses and landslides blocked several roads.

"So far, we don't have victims," she said. "People were really scared ... We have had moderate quakes but an earthquake (this strong) hadn't happened in more than 50 years."

There were no initial reports of damage or deaths in the capital of San Jose, said Douglas Salgado, a geographer with Costa Rica's National Commission of Risk Prevention and Emergency Attention.

Salgado said, however, officials were having problem accessing the earthquake zone or reaching people there and were flying over the area to assess damage to highways and other structures.

The earthquake didn't knock out phones or electricity in the capital 88 miles or 141 kilometers from the epicenter, Salgado said by telephone, but communications were down near the epicenter.

"There's chaos in San Jose because it was a strong earthquake of long duration," Salgado said. "It was pretty strong and caused collective chaos."

In the coastal town of Nosara, roughly 50 miles or 80 kilometers north of the epicenter, trees shook violently and light posts swayed. Teachers chased primary school students outside at the quake hit. Roads cracked and power lines fell to the ground.

A tsunami warning was in effect for Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a bulletin.

It said it was unknown if a tsunami was generated, but the warning was based on the size of the earthquake.

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