PANAMA (REUTERS) - An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 on Monday struck the border region of the contiguous Central American nations of Panama and Costa Rica, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.

The quake had a relatively shallow depth of 11km.

Its epicenter was 12km southwest of Guabito, Panama and 79km southeast of Puerto Limon in Costa Rica, the USGS said.