A 7.6 magnitude earthquake has struck the northwestern coast of Costa Rica, Wednesday morning.

The U.S. Geological Survey reports the quake – which happened at 8:30 a.m. local time on the Pacific Coast was centered approximately 50 miles south of Liberia, Costa Rica, a popular travel destination for Canadians.

There were no immediate reports of damage of casualties. However, communications were down near the eipcentre shortly afterwards, and people in the coastal town of Nosara in the northwest part of the country reported trees shaking violently and light posts swaying. Teachers chased primary school students outside.

The quake was felt throughout most of Central America.

Meanwhile, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said earthquakes of such a large magnitude have the potential to generate a widespread destructive tsunami affecting coastlines of every Caribbean island. However, the warning for Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua were lifted after a short time.