A magnitude 7.7 earthquake has struck southern Panama, damaging buildings and sending thousands of people into the streets, although the country appeared to have escaped widespread destruction or loss of life.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported that the earthquake occurred at a depth of 12.6 kilometres, with its epicentre in a sparsely populated area about 200 kilometres from the capital, Panama City. The agency warned that some casualties were possible.
The Panama Canal and Cobre Panama copper mine reported normal operations, while Tocumen International Airport lifted a temporary suspension of flights.
President Raul Mulino travelled to Penonome, a city located roughly halfway between the epicentre and Panama City, where some buildings collapsed and a church sustained damage.
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The USGS estimated that about 43,000 people in Panama lived in areas facing at least severe exposure to the earthquake.
The Director of Panama’s geosciences institute, Nestor Luque, attributed the earthquake to the Azuero-Sona Fault System, explaining that it contained a significant buildup of pressure that was periodically released.
“The seismic signals have travelled throughout the national territory and that is why it could be felt everywhere,” Luque explained.
A maintenance worker, Victor Pinzon, described watching high-rise window cleaners endure the tremors.
“It’s a miracle they didn’t get killed, they looked like they were swinging in a hammock,” he said.
The head of Panama’s civil protection agency, Omar Smith, disclosed that the earthquake’s effects had also been reported in Chitre, the capital of Herrera province, and along the coast in Los Santos province.
The USGS estimated that economic losses could amount to between one and 10 per cent of Panama’s gross domestic product, while electricity provider Naturgy reported power outages in six provinces.
Panama is scheduled to hold a national evacuation drill on Monday next week to test the country’s emergency response capabilities.
Reuters
