Panama’s government declared a state of emergency on Saturday after two powerful earthquakes and more than 100 aftershocks shook communities across the country for hours.
No deaths were attributed by officials to Friday’s magnitude-7.7 and 6.6 earthquakes, but damage was reported in all 10 of Panama’s provinces and in two Indigenous territories.
The quakes toppled buildings near the epicentre and prompted evacuations across the Central American country. Seismologists recorded more than 100 aftershocks, among them tremors measuring magnitude 5.8, 5.5 and 5.2.
According to the US Geological Survey, the earlier quake, which was also felt in neighbouring Colombia, was centred about 10km (6 miles) south-west of Pitaloza Arriba, a remote community in the central province of Herrera, and struck at a depth of 10km (6 miles).
Presidential minister Juan Carlos Orillac announced the emergency during a news conference in Panama City. Homes, schools, healthcare facilities, roads and hotels were among the damaged facilities, he said.
Malitzie Rivera, deputy director of the National Civil Protection System, said 27 people had been reported injured, with injuries ranging from minor to moderate.
The Civil Protection agency reported that about 420 homes and the same number of public schools had been damaged, along with seven hotels, at least 13 churches and nine bridges.
Most of the damage was concentrated in the central provinces of Veraguas, Herrera, Cocle and Los Santos.
In La Villa de Los Santos, a colonial-era community about 64km (40 miles) north-east of the epicentre, homes and a historical Catholic church collapsed. People who spent the night on the streets were waiting for the government’s guidance on what to do next.
“We’ve been here since 1 pm yesterday; we haven’t moved,” said Tony Jiménez, whose home partially collapsed, sitting with relatives under a tent. “It was a terrible thing. I can tell you with absolute certainty that in my 90 years, I had never experienced anything like it. It was intense – truly intense.”
Officials reported no missing people on Saturday but said landslides and road damage had left some communities cut off.
Carlos Valdés, who heads the seismology department at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said the country’s strict building codes, particularly those governing skyscraper construction in the capital, could explain why widespread deaths appeared to have been avoided.
Messages of support and offers of assistance were sent from across the region shortly after the earthquakes. Mulino thanked fellow Latin American leaders on Friday, saying he had spoken with the presidents of Chile, Uruguay and Guatemala, among others.
The US Department of State said on Saturday that it had mobilised a disaster response team to help local authorities with search and rescue expertise as well as aerial and on-the-ground assessments, and pledged $5m for humanitarian assistance.
The US military’s southern command said two helicopters, supported by the state department’s drug-control bureau, had delivered 2,000 pounds (907kg) of food to people affected by the earthquakes.
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