Magnitude 6.1 earthquake jolts southern Panama days after 7.7 quake, says USGS

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck southern Panama on Monday evening, 12 October local time, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), days after two powerful quakes damaged buildings in the country’s south. The Associated Press reported no immediate reports of casualties or property damage from Monday’s tremor.

The USGS said the preliminary magnitude 6.1 quake hit at about 6:20 pm local time at a depth of 10 km, about 18 km west of Río Grande in southern Panama, AP reported.

Friday’s twin earthquakes

Monday’s quake followed a magnitude 7.7 earthquake on Friday, 9 October, and a magnitude 6.6 quake about two and a half hours later, according to USGS figures reported by CBS News. The first was centred about 11 km south-west of the remote community of Pitaloza Arriba at a depth of about 11 km; the second struck about 13 km west of Río Grande on the Pacific coast.

Agencies gave different magnitudes. A situation report by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) recorded the main shock as magnitude 7.5 at a depth of 4 km, at 12:56 pm local time, centred 39 km north-west of Tonosí near the Veraguas–Los Santos border. Some early media reports cited 7.6 or 8.0.

• 12 October: magnitude 6.1, depth 10 km, 18 km west of Río Grande (USGS)
• 9 October: magnitude 7.7 and 6.6 (USGS); 7.5 main shock per PAHO’s report
• Injuries: 27 people treated for mild and moderate injuries; no deaths reported (PAHO Situation Report 1)
• State of emergency declared on 10 October (PAHO)

Damage and response

Damage was concentrated in Veraguas, Herrera and Los Santos provinces, Omar Smith of Panama’s National Civil Protection Service said, according to CBS News. He reported no damage in the capital. CBS News said the cathedral in Penonomé partly collapsed, and local outlets reported the collapse of the Church of San Atanasio in Los Santos, a national heritage site. Large cracks appeared on roads in Veraguas.

“Nobody was ready, and no one is ever ready for this type of disaster,” President José Raúl Mulino said, according to CBS News. He also urged calm. According to PAHO, about 300 people were evacuated from Isla Cañas because of rising sea levels, and five communities were cut off.

The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for Panama’s coast after Friday’s main quake and later said the threat had passed. Tocumen International Airport briefly suspended operations, and the Panama Canal Authority said canal operations were continuing normally, CBS News reported. University of Panama seismologists recorded dozens of aftershocks.

Sources: Business Standard (AP), CP24 (AP), CBS News, PAHO