The quake -- initially given a magnitude of 7.9 but then revised to 7.6 -- struck at 10:42 a.m. ET at a depth of about 25 miles and about five miles northeast of Samara, a coastal area on the Pacific some 94 miles from the capital San Jose.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a tsunami warning was in effect for Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Peru. A tsunami watch notice was issued for Chile.

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"It is not known that a tsunami was generated. This warning is based only on the earthquake evaluation. An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines near the epicenter within minutes and more distant coastlines within hours," the PTWC said.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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