The Associated Press is reporting that a powerful, magnitude-7.6 earthquake shook Costa Rica and a wide swath of Central America on Wednesday.

There were no immediate accounts of injuries, but communications were down in many areas.

The USGS said the 8:42 a.m. quake struck about 38 miles from the town of Liberia and 88 miles west of the capital, San Jose.

It was centered about 25 miles below the surface.

The magnitude initially was estimated at 7.9.

A tsunami warning was in effect for Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a bulletin.

It said it was unknown if a tsunami was generated, but the warning was based on the size of the earthquake.