Four strong earthquake shocks recorded in Panama
Four strong earthquakes were recorded in Panama on the weekend in areas bordering Costa Rica.
SINAPROC, (the civil protection agency) director Arturo Alvarado, has called for calm..
The border area was hit in the early hours of Saturday by a quake of 5.5 degrees on the international Richter scale. Soon after, there was a second quake of 4.7 magnitude.
The area was then shaken by two more quakes of 5.1 and 5.2 degrees.
The movements are associated with the phenomenon of subduction in southern Costa Rica, where the Cocos plate is inserted under the Panama microplate.
Alvarado said the tremors have caused neither casualties nor property damage but warned that there could be more shocks and urged people to remain calm and take preventive measures.
The Geosciences, University of Panama said the four earthquakes recorded by seismographs had a depth of no more than 10 kilometers