746 aftershocks, 13,000 people affected, and only one official death: the Panama earthquake that doesn't add up with the images of towns wiped out

A week after the magnitude 7.5 earthquake that shook Panama, the official toll remains one fatality, but images of devastated towns and entire families sleeping outdoors contradict any optimistic reading of the figures. A helicopter from the Panamanian naval aviation forces unloads boxes of aid over an isolated village on the Azuero Peninsula. A week after the magnitude 7.5 earthquake that shook Panama, the official toll remains one fatality, but images of devastated towns and entire families sleeping outdoors contradict any optimistic reading of the figures. The Institute of Geosciences at the University of Panama counted 746 aftershocks as of Friday morning, according to its director, Néstor Luque. The figure, reported to Metro Libre, represents an increase from the 696 recorded on Thursday, and seismic activity could continue for another one to two months, according to the specialist's estimates. The earthquake originated on October 9 at 12:56 local time, with its epicenter near La Pitaloza, in the province of Herrera. The earthquake originated on October 9 at 12:56 local time, with its epicenter near La Pitaloza, in the province of Herrera. A team from EFE, the international news agency, traveled through the area from the first hours after the disaster and documented collapsed roads, destroyed historical heritage, and persistent tension among residents awaiting official responses. Los Santos, Herrera, and Veraguas make up the Azuero Peninsula, a rural area of colonial towns with an aging population that depends on agriculture and livestock farming. It was there that the damage caused by the release of energy from two tectonic plates was concentrated. The official balance reported by EFE speaks of more than 13,000 people affected, no one missing, and fewer than 30 injured. Some 3,700 people remain in temporary shelters, a week after the earthquake shook the country. Nearly 900 families lost their homes completely and about a thousand suffered moderate damage, according to official figures cited by the agency. A total of 879 families lost their homes as a result of the seismic movement that struck various provinces of Panama. EFEThe towns farthest from the epicenter are still camping in public parks, with communal meals organized in giant pots cooked in streets still in ruins. "I was very worried when we felt the movement. We were far from home (...) I have no words to explain what we are going through here," Sonia Valdés, a resident of La Pitaloza, told EFE after losing her home. "Fear" was the word most repeated among the testimonies gathered by the agency. "I haven't dared to go to my house. I was at work and everything started to shake. We all ended up on the floor. It was terrifying," recounted Cristal Reyes from Tonosí, the town closest to the epicenter. The official count added 619 affected educational centers, of which 35 collapsed completely. Despite the fear, the inhabitants of the peninsula remained united. Some clung to their faith with priests who held improvised masses in public spaces, with "traveling churches" that walked the streets carrying liturgical instruments in cloth bags. The official count added 619 affected educational centers, of which 35 collapsed completely. Also damaged were more than 60 government buildings, 44 churches, 67 health centers, 11 hotels, and a dozen roads, highways, and bridges across the Panamanian territory. Among the most significant heritage losses is the Church of San Atanasio, in the province of Los Santos, declared a National Historical Monument in 1938, which collapsed completely, as recorded by DevelopmentAid, a portal specializing in international cooperation. The Ministry of Health confirmed this week that 67 of the country's 842 hospital facilities suffered damage. AME5160. BÚCARO (PANAMA), 10/11/2026.- Families set up an improvised camp this Sunday outside their homes for fear of aftershocks following the 7.7 earthquake that struck last Friday in Búcaro (Panama). According to the latest official report from Panamanian authorities, the number rises to more than 1,400 throughout the country, including some 840 residences and residential buildings, 419 schools, more than 60 government buildings, 24 health centers, 12 hotels, and 27 churches. EFE/ Bienvenido Velasco According to the Minister of Health, Fernando Boyd Galindo, repairing those structures will require an investment of close to USD 61 million, according to an estimate reported by La República. In rural hospitals, medical staff set up care rooms on the street for fear of new aftershocks. In one small affected town, even a barbershop-on-wheels ended up converted into a neonatology room, a display of local ingenuity in the face of the emergency. According to the Panamanian government, more than 465 tons of humanitarian aid have already been mobilized, 145 of them delivered by air to the most remote areas. In Cañas, residents rushed to collect boxes dropped by helicopters from the naval aviation forces after being cut off and took in inhabitants of a nearby island that was flooded. The Ministry of Public Security of Panama reported that the airlift moved food, bottled water, and essential supplies between October 10 and 11, while residents of remote communities continued to request assistance. CortesíaInternational cooperation was added to the state response. The United States became the main ally through its Southern Command, while Costa Rica sent medical equipment and Venezuela contributed a technical contingent to assess infrastructure. That Venezuelan mission, made up of 51 professionals, met on Wednesday with President José Raúl Mulino to coordinate the inspection of more than 3,300 homes, the 619 affected schools, and public health facilities, as reported by El Nacional. The bilateral operation arose from cooperation agreements between Mulino and the acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez. President Mulino announced this Thursday the deposit of funds into community boards and mayor's offices to assist those affected directly. Each corregimiento representative will receive USD 10,000 and each mayor's office will have USD 20,000, resources subject to oversight by the Comptroller General of the Republic, as detailed by Infobae. Panama reports damage to 188 schools, as well as to homes, hospitals, and churches from the earthquake. The Minister of Housing, Jaime Jované, also confirmed the start of construction of 1,300 homes for families in greatest vulnerability. The work began in Quebrada Grande, Penonomé, and San Félix, and will extend to Herrera, Los Santos, and the Ngäbe Buglé comarca. The national state of emergency made up to USD 100 million available to finance the response, an amount that the Ministry of Economy and Finance defined without compromising the country's fiscal deficit target for this year. The sector hardest hit in its future outlook is education. More than 30 rural schools disappeared completely and another 600 suffered damage in the final stretch of the school year, which in Panama ends in December. AME5162. BÚCARO (PANAMA), 10/11/2026.- Two girls rest this Sunday in an improvised camp outside their homes for fear of aftershocks following the 7.7 earthquake that struck last Friday in Búcaro (Panama). According to the latest official report from Panamanian authorities, the number rises to more than 1,400 throughout the country, including some 840 residences and residential buildings, 419 schools, more than 60 government buildings, 24 health centers, 12 hotels, and 27 churches. EFE/ Bienvenido Velasco Teachers and parents told EFE that on the day of the earthquake many children had already left school, a coincidence that the agency described as a "miracle" and which adds to the complete absence of missing victims after the quake. The reopening of in-person classes will depend on gradual structural inspections, according to education authorities. Panama now faces the task of rebuilding the region that its own inhabitants define as the rural heart of the country's history.