KVIG Informative

A month after the earthquake, Panama counts more than 55,000 people affected, three dead and a plan to build 2,700 homes. The president is asking for patience; his goal is to hand over the first houses before the year ends.

The October 9 earthquake left more than 55,000 people affected, three dead and 27 injured, according to the National Civil Protection System, cited by Panamá América on November 4. That day, during the national holiday events, President José Raúl Mulino asked displaced residents for “trust and patience” while their homes are rebuilt.

The toll grew fast. On October 14 the government counted 11,460 people affected and 1,250 collapsed homes, according to Telemetro. In three weeks, the number of people affected rose nearly fivefold. Deaths rose too: on October 10 Civil Protection reported no fatalities, and on October 14 Mulino announced the death of an injured person, according to NTN24.

The quake, magnitude 7.5 according to the Panamanian government, was centered in the Tonosí district. The Cabinet declared a national state of emergency on October 10 and authorized up to $100 million, Bloomberg Línea reported. The Inter-American Development Bank said Panama can access up to $300 million in contingent financing and will provide up to $500,000 in non-reimbursable funds for humanitarian aid.

The reconstruction plan calls for 2,700 homes in Herrera, Los Santos, Coclé and Veraguas. Mulino set a goal of delivering the first ones before 2026 ends. Housing Minister Jaime Jované explained that construction will begin once debris removal is finished and that families will wait in temporary housing next to their property. The government set aside $10,000 for community boards and $20,000 for mayors’ offices in the affected areas for bottled water, tents and stoves.

The numbers leave open questions. The government counted 1,250 collapsed homes on October 14 and about 3,000 with some level of damage on October 17, according to La República. Minister José Ramón Icaza clarified that the count does not mean all must be rebuilt: technical assessments will decide which ones. That day the government also reported damage to 22 bridges.

Mayors near the epicenter sounded the alarm from the first day. Tonosí Mayor Aníbal Domínguez estimated about 100 homes destroyed or severely damaged and warned that 4,000 to 5,000 of the 7,000 planted hectares of rice could be at risk. “The municipalities don’t even have the community board money to buy a pound of rice,” he said, according to Bloomberg Línea. Mariato Mayor Ángel Batista estimated about 1,500 people affected and said the municipal building was practically lost.

The first assessment also counted 419 schools with damage, 21 health facilities affected and nine bridges with problems. On October 14, Mulino ordered five ministers to stay permanently in the hardest-hit provinces, and the government opened 33 shelters, according to Telemetro.

Mulino asked more than 55,000 people for patience. His own numbers set the calendar: 2,700 homes to build, debris to clear, and a promise to hand over the first ones before December 31. The figure that will test that promise is how many families are still in shelters on January 1.