The 7.7 magnitude earthquake that hit this Friday Panama It left at least 27 minor injuries, some 300 evacuees and more than 400 buildings affected, including 142 residences and 188 schools, with no fatalities reported, according to the latest balance from the Panamanian authorities.
“The initial reports reflect damage to homes, educational centers, hospitals, churches, government buildings, bridges and roads in different provinces of the country (…) So far no missing people have been reported”reported the National Civil Protection System (Sinaproc) in a statement cited by EFE.
The earthquake, whose epicenter was located near the town of Tonosí, in the southwest of the countryhad a magnitude of 7.7 according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), while the Institute of Geosciences (IGC) of Panama lowered it to 7.5, while the aftershocks continue, more than a hundred
According to the report, a large part of the country was affected to a greater or lesser extent by the earthquake.
In total in the nine affected provinces, in addition to the 27 were slightly injured, 142 homes, four residential buildings, 188 schools, 20 health facilities, 26 government buildings, 13 churches, seven hotels, nine bridges and multiple road sections, among others, were damaged by the tremor, in addition to damage to water treatment plants.
In the province of Los Santos, where Tonosí is located, 14 residences and five hotels were reported with partial damage, six people with minor injuries, four hospitals with partial damage, in addition to 22 educational centers, two churches and 18 government buildings affected.
In that province, approximately 300 people in a coastal community were evacuated towards a higher one due to the increase in sea level, and five communities remain cut off due to damage to bridges, roads and landslides.
Also in the province of Coclé, another of the hardest hit and where the town of Penonomé is located, the preliminary balance records 50 affected residences, two hotels with considerable damage, 17 people with minor injuries, two hospitals with minor damage, two schools, two churches and four government buildings affected, in addition to eight families transferred to a shelter.
A cathedral collapsed
One of the two towers of the cathedral of San Juan Bautista de Penonomé collapsed due to the earthquake, precisely at a time when several priests and the bishop of the municipality, Edgardo Cedeño, were holding a meeting, as the prelate told the aforementioned information agency.
Likewise, one of the sides of the building of the Coclé Governorate collapsed completely and exposed all the trades, while the other side cracked.
The earthquake was strongly felt in Panama City and as it is a city with numerous skyscrapers, the height of which makes the shakes more felt, so the streets were filled with people who had come out with everything they had in case of possible collapses.
