TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – After yet another earthquake in Latin America, a group of students at Florida State University is rallying to help those suddenly left with nothing. <\/p>\n
Last Friday, a series of major earthquakes rocked Panama<\/a>. A 7.7 magnitude earthquake leveled hundreds of homes and schools.<\/p>\n The country\u2019s leaders declared a state of emergency, although no deaths have been reported as of Tuesday. <\/p>\n For FSU Senior Fabiola Torres, the news of the quake was terrifying to see. She said calls and texts to her family back home weren\u2019t going through. <\/p>\n \u201cAt first, I was scared because I didn\u2019t know what had happened to my family,\u201d she told WCTV.<\/p>\n After an excruciating wait, she was able to confirm her family- and their homes- were okay. <\/p>\n Still, even though folks in Panama City were spared the worst, recent memories of buildings crumbling in Venezuela and Colombia from earthquakes this year sparked panic. Torres said people were scrambling to escape buildings in case they were seconds away from collapsing. <\/p>\n \u201cThey didn\u2019t know if it was going to be the same, if, like, the buildings were going to fall, if they were going to die,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Days later, it\u2019s clear the biggest need is in the countryside, Torres said. <\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t have houses. They lost all of their stuff,\u201d she said. \u201cThey don\u2019t have anywhere they can cook, anywhere they can clean themselves. It\u2019s just, like, awful.\u201d<\/p>\n Torres said she has Panamanian friends at FSU who have family who lost their homes. <\/p>\n She\u2019s president of the Panamanian Student Association at the university. The group knew they couldn\u2019t stand by and watch. <\/p>\n Over the weekend, they established a GoFundMe page to raise funds<\/a> for TECHO<\/a>, a non-profit that focuses on building affordable homes for those in need. <\/p>\n Torres said while emergency supplies, food, and water are the focus now, she knows the long term issue will be stable shelter for those who lost their homes. <\/p>\n \u201cIf it took them years to build just one little house and then it just got wrecked in one hour, the thing that worried us the most is when they\u2019re going to be able to rebuild one,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The group blew past their initial $500 goal in just a few hours. As of Tuesday afternoon, they were nearing their new $1200 goal. <\/p>\n To keep up with the latest news as it develops, follow WCTV on Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, Nextdoor<\/a> <\/a>and X<\/a> (Twitter<\/a>).<\/p>\n Have a news tip or see an error? Write to us here<\/a>. Please include the article\u2019s headline in your message.<\/p>\n Be the first to see all the biggest headlines by downloading the WCTV News app. Click here<\/a> to get started.<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 WCTV. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n