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| The epicenter of last night’s 6.5 magnitude earthquake was in Jaco, 67 km (50 miles) from us in Atenas. |
“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”
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| Another of Tom’s excellent bird photos, two Green Parrots admiring each other. |
Last night, around 8:30 pm, we lounged in the screening room while binge-watching the final season of Mad Men. With time running out before we depart Costa Rica (9 days), when we’ll cancel the Netflix account (we won’t be watching anything for a few months while cruising), we were wrapped up in this delicious drama when suddenly, the glass walls in the room began to shake violently.
Having grown up in California where earthquakes occur frequently of varying magnitude, this was yet another such experience for me. For Tom, this was only the second time in his life he’d experienced a quake, the prior in Italy in June 2013, while we lived in a 300-year-old stone house in Boveglio, Tuscany. For that post, please click here.
Although the house shook rather violently, I’ll admit, it seemed to last much longer than the typical 10 to 30 seconds as indicated next.
From this site:
“Generally, earthquakes only last for seconds. Strong ground shaking during a moderate to large earthquake typically lasts about 10 to 30 seconds. Readjustments in the earth cause more earthquakes (aftershocks) that can occur intermittently for weeks or months.”
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| Maxi Pali market in Esparza Costa Rica. |
Within seconds, Tom and I realized what was happening as we left the room to find a safer area in the house with less glass. within seconds we were standing in a safe spot in the center of a small hallway between the screening room and the living room.
Once it ended, during which neither of us panicked, we wandered through the house assessing for any damage. We were shocked when we noticed multiple ceiling fans still moving from the shaking, none of which had been turned on.
Moments later, Tom said, “Let’s get the camera! Look at the pool!” Had we moved a little more quickly, we would have had an opportunity to take a better video of the water sloshing in the pool with water splashing violently onto the veranda floor. It was astounding. As a result, our included video isn’t as outstanding as it could have been if we’d had the camera on hand.
Here’s our video:
The property itself suffered no apparent damage. This sturdy well-built house survived without any issues whatsoever. The lights had blinked off and on several times but luckily (safari luck prevails) we hadn’t lost power.
After assessing the house for damage, satisfied all was fine, we returned to the screening room, checking our laptops for the latest news on the earthquake. Varying magnitude readings were scattered throughout the web from 6.3 to 6.9.
This morning the various geological centers throughout the world seemed to settle on the fact that it was a 6.5 magnitude. Luckily, Costa Rica, from reports thus far, didn’t suffer the loss of lives although it’s been reported two or three fatalities from heart attacks occurring at the time of the quake. There were numerous injuries reported throughout the area affected by the quake.
From this site:
“Costa Rica hit by 6.5 magnitude earthquake
Three people suffered fatal heart attacks that coincided with the time of the earthquake — two in Jacó and one person further south in Coronado — according to a statement from Costa Rica’s presidency. It said the country’s Judicial Investigation Agency was investigating the deaths.
At least one building in Jacó had been evacuated due to apparent damage and there were reports of walls collapsing and objects falling in other parts of the country, but there were no reports of any further injuries, the statement said.
The quake was at a depth of about 12 miles. The country’s Public Safety Ministry said there were reports of two serious injuries as a result of the quake, but did not provide additional details. Electricity was knocked out in some areas as power lines and poles fell, but there were no reports of major infrastructure damage from the temblor, which hit in a lightly populated area on the Pacific Coast. The government reported some rockslides obstructing highways near the epicenter. The U.S. National Weather Service said there was no Pacific-wide tsunami threat, Reuters reported.”
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| We were surprised by the steep level of this gangplank when so many passengers are disabled seniors. It took awhile to get the passenger off the ship to load the bus to head to Port Hedlund, Australia. For more details, please click here. |