national

Strong earthquake damages homes

At 1:15 a.m., an earthquake registering 6.3 on the Richter scale hit the border area between Panama and Costa Rica.

The strong jolt was felt in the districts of David, Barú, Bugaba, Boquerón and the surrounding mountains, rendering a house in the province of Chiriquí uninhabitable and damaging another 19.

In Costa Rica, the quake was felt in Turrialba, Siquirres, Sarapiqui, and in the southern zone and central valley regions of the country.

The earthquake was strong enough that, when they felt the tremors, maternity nurses at José Domingo Obaldía and Rafael Hernández hospitals requested that the facilities be evacuated.

In the quake’s aftermath, damage was recorded in Barú, electricity service was suspended in the city of Puerto Armuelles, a water tank was damaged in the Almirante hospital in Bocas del Toro, and some storefront windows were damaged in David.

“Yesterday, people were not prepared, which means there is still much work to do in terms of prevention [and early warning], and we are going to continue working on this,” said Armando Palacios, director of SINAPROC, the government’s civil defense agency.

Homeowners have started flooding government agencies with requests looking for aid and other assistance in repair the damage to their homes.