A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake and more than 100 aftershocks shook southern Panama on Friday, collapsing buildings near the epicenter and prompting evacuations across the country. The quake, felt as far away as neighboring Colombia, was concentrated about 10 km southwest of the isolated community of Pitaloza Arriba in the central province of Herrera, the United States Geological Survey said. The strongest aftershock, with a magnitude of 6.6, occurred about three hours after the 7.7 earthquake.
- Visibly shaken residents of Panama City, the capital, gathered outside as they waited for news of the impact of Friday’s earthquake. “We felt it very strongly. It knocked things over in the kitchen, but we are fine, although we are very scared,” Rosendo Domínguez, 60, told the AP by telephone. “Everyone is outside, scared.”
Multiple aftershocks continued to rock Panama later Friday and early Saturday, including several measuring magnitudes of 6.0, 5.8, 5.5 and 5.2. René Garcia, director of the Emergency Operations Center, told CNN that nearly 150 aftershocks were recorded. Garcia says authorities won’t conduct structural inspections of damaged buildings until the aftershocks have subsided. Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said authorities had not recorded any people killed as of Friday evening, although he warned that could change in the coming hours or days. “No one was ready, and no one ever is, for this type of disaster,” Mulino said.
- Images of ruined buildings and deep cracks running through roads have added to fears in a region hit by a series of devastating earthquakes in recent months. Two consecutive earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 shook Venezuela’s La Guaira state in June, killing more than 6,500 people and leaving 17,000 homeless. In August, a 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Colombia killed at least 289 people. The leaders of both countries offered assistance to Panama on Friday.
- Omar Smith of the National Civil Protection Service told the Telemetro Reporta news channel that damage was concentrated in the central provinces of Veraguas, Herrera and Los Santos. According to him, no major damage has been reported in the capital, known for its hundreds of skyscrapers. Smith said several injuries were reported, including one person struck by debris from a partially collapsed structure in the town of Penonomé, about 150 km from the capital. It confirmed a partial collapse and cracks in the cathedral in the district’s main square.
- Local media also reported that the Church of San Atanasio, a colonial-style Catholic church in Panama’s Los Santos province, had collapsed. The church was declared a national historic heritage site in 1938. Elsewhere, notably in the province of Veraguas, large cracks ran along the roads.
- The Panama Canal Authority said operations were continuing as normal along the global trade route. It said its priority was the safety of employees, vessels and crews and that specialized technical teams were inspecting facilities for possible damage.
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