M4.6 Earthquake 3 km ESE of San Juan, Costa Rica — February 19, 2023
2023-02-19 22:56:52 UTC (2023-02-19) · approx. 4:56 PM UTC-6 local
Felt by 4 people across nearby locations.
On February 19, 2023 at 22:56 UTC, a magnitude 4.6 shallow crustal earthquake struck 3 km ESE of San Juan, Costa Rica, at a depth of 17.5 km and coordinates 10.0881°, -84.2876°. This earthquake was detected by 28 seismic stations with good location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 327, placing it among routine seismic activity.
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 4.6 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 120 metric tons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 899 m — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.
Did You Feel It? — community-reported shaking
Aggregated felt-report intensity from 4 citizen responses to the USGS Did You Feel It? system. Each colored zone represents the average MMI from reports in that area.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey Did You Feel It?. View on USGS · submit your own report
Earthquake Details
-84.2876°E
Technical Information
Nearby Earthquakes (Last 7 Days)
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 4.6 earthquake near San Juan, Costa Rica?
The magnitude 4.6 earthquake that struck 3 km ESE of San Juan, Costa Rica on February 19, 2023 at 22:56 UTC had a depth of 17.5 km. For context, this was a light earthquake commonly felt near the epicenter.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at 10.0881°, -84.2876°, which is 3 km ESE of San Juan, Costa Rica.
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 4.6 earthquakes can continue for several days and gradually diminish over time.
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us6000jq6i). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2023, February 19, 2023). M4.6 Earthquake 3 km ESE of San Juan, Costa Rica — February 19, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us6000jq6i/