New 6.0 earthquake strikes Panama
Shafaq News- Panama City
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit Panama, the latest strong tremor after a 7.7 quake struck the country a day earlier, local media reported on Saturday.
Panama’s emergency operations chief Rene Garcia said no deaths were immediately reported, while at least two people were injured in the earlier earthquake.
Seismic data placed the 6.0 tremor 7 kilometers north of La Tronosa at a depth of 10 kilometers. Panama’s Geosciences Institute had recorded more than 80 aftershocks by Saturday, including at least one above magnitude 6.0.
The main earthquake struck on Friday near Pitaloza Arriba in central Panama. The US Geological Survey initially estimated its magnitude at 8.0 before revising it to 7.7.
Garcia said the two reported injuries involved people trapped in collapsed structures, one near a church in Veraguas province and another at a hotel in Cocle province.
President Jose Raul Mulino described the situation as a “major disaster” and said some roads had completely collapsed. Health Minister Fernando Boyd said Herrera, Cocle, and Los Santos were the worst-hit provinces, while Tonosi in Los Santos was cut off by road.
The Education Ministry suspended classes nationwide. Tocumen International Airport temporarily closed and diverted several flights before reopening, while the Panama Canal Authority said shipping continued normally.
