Costa Ricans immediately tweeted about the 7.6 (Mercalli) earthquake that shook the country at 8:42 am on September 5, 2012. The quake, with an epicenter in the Guanacaste [1] area, was felt strongly in nearby Liberia [2] and also in San Jose [3].
Twitter users are also reporting that the earthquake was quite long. Citizens are using the hashtags #temblorcr [4] and #terremotocr [5].
As Ariel Arburola (@arielarburola [6]) [es] tweeted:
@arielarburola [7]: Casi corro pero me dió tiempo de poner #temblorcr [4]
Some damage reports are coming in, even through Twitter. Sergio Pacheco (@lafoto [8]) [es] posted about damage to his sister's house in Montezuma, close to the epicenter:
@lafoto [9]: la casa de mi hermana en Montezuma en Guanacaste con el piso levantado #temblorcr [4]
Some mobile networks are down, as Cristian Cambronero (@cambronero [10]) [es] reports:
@cambronero [11]: Caída la red de Movistar, el ICE funciona parcialmente #terremotocr [5]
Fabián Calvo (@FabianCalvo [12]) [es] replied:
@FabianCalvo [12]: @cambronero [11] Acá por el contrario, yo tengo Movistar y puedo llamar a Claro y a líneas fijas del ICE, a los celulares Kolbi no puedo del todo
The OVSICORI [13] (Sismological Organization of Costa Rica) has reported that the coast of the Nicoya Peninsula might rise a meter due to the earthquake, as El Periódico of Costa Rica (@elperiodicocr.com [14]) [es] reports:
@elperiodicocr.com [15]: Terromoto levantó la Penínzula [sic] de Nicoya en por lo menos un metros, dice Marino Protti, del OVSICORI.
Live radio signal can be heard through ADNfm radio [16] [es], where people are calling in reports of cut electric service, tile roofs collapsing, and damages, although no dead have been reported yet.
An automatic tsunami alert has been declared in the Pacific Region and Chile as well, but the National Emergency Commission (CNE) has turned it off for the Costa Rican Pacific coast.
On Twitter and through mass media, such as radio ADN.fm, citizens and journalists are recommending that people report themselves through the Internet and social networks such as Twitter.
The nation's president, Laura Chinchilla (@Laura_Ch [17]) [es] headed out to get information from the National Commission for Emergencies:
@Laura_Ch [18]: Ante dificultades en el sistema de telecomunicaciones me dirijo a CNE para recibir informe sobre seismo q sacudió al país.
[19]Hospital Monseñor Sanabria in Punta Arenas, Costa Rica, after September 5th earthquake. Image by Twitpic user @tapachiche