Residents near the epicenter of a major earthquake in southern Panama began cleaning up on Saturday, traumatized by the previous day’s heavy shaking that left widespread damage but so far no reported deaths.
“This is something we’ve never seen before. We weren’t prepared for this kind of event,” said Aldulfo Quintero as he cleared debris from a store in Chitre, about 250 kilometers southwest of Panama City.
“The disaster we are facing is massive,” President Jose Raul Mulino said upon arriving in one of the affected areas. The United States, which counts Panama among the members of President Donald Trump’s new “Shield of the Americas” initiative, has pledged rapid support. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X on Friday that he was “closely monitoring” the situation, with his office “rapidly mobilizing resources and personnel to assist. The top US military commander in the region, Francis Donovan, has “directed immediate support to help the people of Panama, including on-the-ground support from rotary-wing aircraft… and the airlift of key personnel and supplies into the country,” US Southern Command said in a statement on Saturday.
