A few hours after a 4.2 MW earthquake scared Halloween revelers in Guanacaste, residents of the Central Valley in Costa Rica were jolted awake by a 4.3 MW seism that occurred at 1:23 am. This geological event was followed by a number of aftershocks that culminated in a stronger temblor at 3:27 am. The epicenter of these seismic disturbances, which happened just hours before people in Costa Rica prepared to remember the dearly departed on All Saints Day, was located in Aserri and the surrounding southern communities of San Jose.

According to the National Seismology Network (Spanish initials: RSN) of the University of Costa Rica, these earthquakes originated due to the geological process of local subduction, which means that one edge of a crustal plate moves sideways or down into the mantle of another plate. In other words, the RSN wishes to reassure the population that the Day of the Dead quakes were not related to the volcanic activity of the Turrialba Volcano in the province of Cartago.

The scientific explanation by the RSN was not assimilated by many neighbors in the populous communities of Alajuelita, Desamparados and San Miguel, where reports of people running out of their homes in their underwear and pajamas were called in to national radio stations between 1:23 and 5:43 am. Below you will find a list of the earthquakes and aftershocks along with their magnitudes:

1. 1:23 am, Mag 4,3
2. 1:29 am, Mag 2,3
3. 1:34 am, Mag 2,4
4. 1:35 am, Mag 2,5
5. 2:06 am, Mag 2,6
6. 3:14 am, Mag 2,4
7. 3:27 am, Mag 3,9
8. 4:17 am, Mag 2,8
9. 4:21 am, Mag 2,9
10. 4:38 am, Mag 3,3
11. 4:46 am, Mag 3,1
12. 5:07 am, Mag 2,8
13. 5:43 am, Mag 2,4

Many of the earth tremors above were strongly felt since their epicenters were detected at depths between 6 and 9 kilometers. Some neighbors who were not able to sleep due to the seismicity decided to head to their local churches and wait for the All Saints Day mass and feast this morning. No injuries have been reported and the damage has been limited to fallen household items, broken dishes, cracks on the walls, etc.