Panama earthquake damages buildings in Penonome

Parts of a hotel, a church and the governor's office collapsed in Penonome after Panama's October 9 earthquake. Civil protection agency Sinaproc was assessing the damage, TVN reported.

The affected buildings are in Coclé province. TVN's initial account identified those three sites while the extent of the structural damage was still being established. Civil protection officials were collecting reports from different parts of the country.

The main shock struck at 12:56 p.m. local time, or 8:56 p.m. in Moscow. RIA Novosti, citing the University of Panama's Geosciences Institute, reported a magnitude of 7.2, a depth of four kilometres and an epicentre 39 kilometres northwest of Tonosi.

Seismic estimates differ. The USGS event record lists a magnitude of 7.7 and a location west-southwest of Pitaloza Arriba. The 7.2 figure therefore belongs to the Panamanian institute's account rather than the American agency's latest assessment.

Aftershocks followed the main earthquake. RIA's initial report described further tremors of up to magnitude 6.1 on land and in Panama's surrounding waters.

The first account of the collapses contained no confirmed casualty figures. A subsequent government report cited by EFE on October 10 also reported no deaths. The absence of confirmed fatalities does not mean that there were no injuries or material losses.