A Panama 5.7 Earthquake in Chiriqui Province Closes Schools Tuesday

A Sinaproc worker above is checking safety in a school.  At least 17 schools in the province of Chiriquí will not have classes on Tuesday, July 23, because they will be evaluated following the earthquake that occurred this Monday at 2:19 pm, reported Edwin Gordón, National Director of Environmental Education of the Ministry of Education.  At least three schools with severe damage due to earthquake in Chiriquí and some 17 houses have been affected.  Gordón explained that there will be no classes at the San Vicente Bilingual School, Punta Burica First Cycle, La Esperanza School, Guayacán School, El Tecal, Estrella de Los Valles and Bugaba School.  There will also be no classes Tuesday at the San José Bilingual School, the Pedregal Bilingual School, the Victoriano Lorenzo Bilingual School, the Las Lomas Bilingual School, the Los Abanico Bilingual School, the Rincón Largo School, the El Varital General Basic Education Center, Nuevo Verado and the José María Roy School.  Provincial authorities will carry out assessments of educational centres to determine the damage caused by the earthquake and its more than 11 aftershocks.  The Institute of Geosciences of the University of Panama first reported that the earthquake was 6.0, but later modified its magnitude and set it at 5.7.  The epicenter of the earthquake was 10 kilometers southeast of the city of Puerto Armuelles, in the district of Barú, near the border of Panama with Costa Rica.  Check on Panama Earthquakes near you:  https://earthquakelist.org/panama/