A shallow magnitude 5.3 earthquake was reported around noon near Puntarenas, Provincia de Puntarenas, Costa Rica.According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the quake hit on Tuesday, July 7th, 2026, at 12:11 pm local time at a shallow depth of 17. km. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.Our monitoring service identified a second report from the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) which listed the quake at magnitude 5.3 as well. A third agency, the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake, reported the same quake at magnitude 5.3.Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc. In Jaco (pop. 4,100) located 17 km from the epicenter, Puntarenas (pop. 35,700) 36 km away, Chacarita (pop. 26,400) 36 km away, and Esparza (pop. 15,600) 39 km away, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.Weak shaking might have been felt in San Rafael Abajo (pop. 27,400) located 57 km from the epicenter, San Francisco (pop. 55,900) 80 km away, Heredia (pop. 21,900) 82 km away, and San Jose (pop. 335,000) 82 km away.VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.Earthquake data: Date & time: Jul 7, 2026 12:11 pm (Costa Rica time) local time (7 Jul 2026 18:11 GMT)Magnitude: 5.3Depth: 17.00 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude: 9.66°N / 84.78°W (Provincia de San Jose, Costa Rica)Primary data source: EMSC