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M5.6 Earthquake near Off Coast of Costa Rica

UTC time: 2026-04-15 06:56:02 UTC Local time: —
Earthquake newsQuakeMap24
Archive record · original publication time was not recorded

Automatically generated from measurement data by QuakeMap24. Values may change after further analysis.

Magnitude
M5.6
Depth
18.0 km
Source
GFZ

Off Coast of Costa Rica

Map

M5.6 Earthquake near Off Coast of Costa Rica · 2026-04-15 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M5.6 Earthquake near Off Coast of Costa Rica · 2026-04-15 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

On April 15, 2026 at 06:56 UTC, a magnitude M5.6 earthquake occurred near Off Coast of Costa Rica. The hypocenter lay relatively close to the surface at around 18 km, increasing how strongly it was felt. Earthquakes of this magnitude can damage poorly built structures.

The event was recorded by GFZ.

Details

ID
cd10d73b8a526a2f03342b1879a0b7264e774565
Magnitude
M5.6
Depth
18.0 km
UTC time
2026-04-15 06:56:02 UTC
Local time
—
Country
—
Source
gfz
Coordinates
9.93000, -86.32000
Temperature
28.2°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 18 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 18 km
Shallow
18 km
Why depth matters

Shallow quakes release energy near the surface — shaking is felt more strongly and damage potential is higher.

Depth classes per USGS

Nearby population centers

Distances are straight-line distances from the epicenter. Population data: GeoNames.

PlaceDistanceDirectionPopulation
Nicoya98.3 kmE15'313
Masaya228.5 kmN130'113
Managua245.1 kmN973'087

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

  • Rincon de la Vieja Activity reported
    Distance: 147 km ·Complex ·Elevation: 1'729 m ·Last eruption: 2024 ·Costa Rica
  • Orosi
    Distance: 149 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 1'659 m ·Costa Rica
  • Miravalles
    Distance: 157 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'028 m ·Last eruption: 1946 ·Costa Rica
  • Tenorio
    Distance: 165 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 1'916 m ·Costa Rica
  • Arenal
    Distance: 187 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'670 m ·Last eruption: 2010 ·Costa Rica
  • Concepcion
    Distance: 194 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'700 m ·Last eruption: 2024 ·Nicaragua

Radius · 100 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Nosara AirportCosta Rica · NOB · MRNS
    73.2 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-10-05

This selection shows geographic proximity, not a hazard zone or confirmed impacts. Distances use recorded site coordinates. Sources & data dates

Subsequent earthquakes nearby

Events recorded after this earthquake within 150 km. They are not automatically classified as aftershocks.

First 6 hours2
First 24 hours3
First 72 hours5
Strongest subsequent eventM5.8
M5.72026-04-15 06:56:03 UTC6.8 km72 km SW of Tamarindo, Costa Rica M5.82026-04-15 06:56:08 UTC8.2 kmOff coast of Costa Rica [Sea: Costa Rica] M2.82026-04-16 02:04:22 UTC66.3 kmOFF COAST OF COSTA RICA M3.22026-04-17 16:30:46 UTC50.6 kmOFF COAST OF COSTA RICA M2.62026-04-17 19:43:43 UTC26.2 kmOFF COAST OF COSTA RICA M2.52026-04-18 12:05:20 UTC132.7 kmNEAR COAST OF NICARAGUA M3.02026-04-18 16:04:21 UTC124.5 kmNEAR COAST OF NICARAGUA M2.92026-04-18 23:17:14 UTC36.8 kmOFF COAST OF COSTA RICA M3.02026-04-19 17:01:16 UTC107.7 kmOFF COAST OF COSTA RICA M2.92026-04-20 01:30:40 UTC114.6 kmOFF COAST OF COSTA RICA M2.82026-04-22 18:04:16 UTC56.2 kmOFF COAST OF COSTA RICA M2.82026-04-22 20:52:56 UTC123.7 kmNEAR COAST OF NICARAGUA

No unambiguous area assignment

Context for this earthquake

This event has no unambiguous country assignment in the analysed catalogue. It is therefore not assigned to a regional profile.

Earthquake overview

Historical context nearby

Comparison with recorded earthquakes before this event within 150 km.

Magnitude rank#2
Earlier events M≥447
Earlier events M≥56
Compared since2025-01-22

The QuakeMap24 comparison dataset begins on 2024-03-23. Earlier earthquakes may not be included.

Strongest earlier events

M5.82026-04-15 06:56:01 UTC17.9 kmOff Coast of Costa Rica M5.52026-04-15 06:56:01 UTC6.5 kmOff Coast of Costa Rica M5.52026-03-26 17:15:23 UTC90.1 km M5.22026-03-04 18:57:02 UTC79.7 kmGuanacaste M5.02025-07-28 20:55:20 UTC140.7 km84 km SSW of Masachapa, Nicaragua

Stats (last 24h)

Global (24h)
615
Country (24h)
—
—
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