A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake and more than 100 aftershocks roiled 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 centered about 6 miles southwest of the remote community of Pitaloza Arriba, in the central province of Herrera, the United States Geological Survey said. The strongest aftershock, at 6.6 magnitude, came around three hours after the 7.7 quake.
Visibly shaken residents of Panama City, the capital, gathered outside as they waited for news of the quake’s impact on Friday. “We felt it very strongly. It knocked things over in the kitchen, but we’re okay, though we’re very scared,” Rosendo Domínguez, 60, told the AP by phone. “Everyone is outside, scared.”
Multiple aftershocks continued to rattle Panama later Friday and early Saturday, including several measuring magnitude 6.0, 5.8, 5.5, and 5.2. Rene Garcia, director of the Emergency Operations Center, tells CNN that almost 150 aftershocks were recorded. Garcia says authorities won’t carry out structural inspections of damaged buildings until the aftershocks subside. Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said authorities had not documented anyone killed as of Friday evening, though he cautioned that could change in the coming hours or days. “Nobody was ready, and no one is ever ready for this type of disaster,” Mulino said.
Images of crumbling buildings and deep fissures slicing through roads added to fears across a region battered by a series of devastating earthquakes in recent months. Two back-to-back 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes roiled 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 said on the Telemetro Reporta news channel that damage was concentrated in the central provinces of Veraguas, Herrera, and Los Santos. He said there were no reports of major damage in the capital, which is known for its hundreds of skyscrapers. Smith said several injuries have been reported, including one person struck by debris from a partially collapsed structure in the city of Penonomé, around 93 miles from the capital. He confirmed a partial collapse and cracks at the cathedral in the district’s main square Local news outlets 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, including in Veraguas province, large fissures ran along roadways. The Panama Canal Authority said operations were continuing normally 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.