My Earthquake Experience

It's a little after 8pm and I'm sitting in the Ft. Lauderdale airport awaiting my delayed flight home to LaGuardia. For the past 3 days I was in San Jose, Costa Rica on business. Actually we stayed in Cariari, Costa Rica near the SJO Airport which is actually located in Alajuela. Everything was fine until we started to depart on the 1:30pm flight to Ft. Lauderdale. We were seated the first row when at about 1:20pm, the aircraft began to sway from side to side. Initially I and my fellow co-worker who was seated right next to me thought the aircraft had been hit by a belt loader or by a tug. However, the aircraft continued to sway from side to side; so I looked out the window and saw the jetbridge at the adjacent gate moving. That's when I said to Kevin, "We're having an earthquake!". Sure enough...it lasted for about 10-12 seconds. Doesn't sound like a lot of time - but when you're in the middle of one, believe me..it is!

We immediately saw Customers running down stairs out of the Airport Terminal onto the tarmac. The airport was closed down while they inspected for damage and then it continued to be closed for a little while because of the aftershocks. All in all I think our departure was pushed back about 1 hour. The Captain told us it was a reported 6.1 magnitude quake centered near the local volcano.

When I got to Ft. Lauderdale and could get a look at news reports, it was determined that it was indeed a 6.1; the largest earthquake to hit Costa Rica in the past 30 years. The following information was obtained from The Huffington Post.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the 6.1-magnitude temblor was centered 22 miles (35 kilometers) northwest of the capital of San Jose in the early afternoon, near the Poas Volcano national park.

The Red Cross said in a statement that a young girl, who hasn't yet been identified, was killed by a landslide unleashed by the quake near the city of Alajuela, north of the capital.

Local TV station Teletica showed broken windows, fallen ceiling panels and cracked walls in Alajuela. The quake was felt strongly throughout the small Central American country, Teletica said. Cell phone service was interrupted briefly.