Symbolic imagePanama counts damage after 7.7 earthquake, canal unaffected
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck southern Panama on Friday, damaging homes, roads and buildings. Authorities reported no deaths so far.
The US Geological Survey put the quake of Friday, 9 October, at a depth of 12.6 km in a sparsely populated area about 200 km from Panama City. President José Raúl Mulino called it a "major disaster" and said some roads had "completely collapsed". Emergency chief René Garcia told AFP that two people were hurt in collapsed buildings in Veraguas and that no deaths had been reported so far. The USGS estimated economic losses at 1% to 10% of GDP, and US tsunami alerts were later lifted.
Aftershocks and disruption
The Jerusalem Post and the Guardian counted more than 40 aftershocks, Le Monde over a hundred, and Folha reports a magnitude 6.6 tremor about two and a half hours after the main quake. Naturgy reported power outages in six provinces, schools closed and two metro lines paused, while the canal, the Cobre Panama mine and, after a suspension, Tocumen airport operated normally.
Other opinions
Panama's geosciences institute rated the quake 7.2 (Telesur, The National), against the USGS figure of 7.7; Daily Sabah, citing AP, gave 7.6.