A magnitude 6.1 aftershock shakes central Panama as the U.N. count of damaged homes rises to about 1,250

The survey places the quake 17 kilometers west of Río Grande, at a depth of about 11 kilometers. It struck at 23:20 UTC on Monday, Oct. 12, which is 6:20 p.m. in Panama and 7:20 p.m. Eastern. The automatic impact estimate, called PAGER, is green. That is the survey's lowest level. The survey says there is a low likelihood of casualties and damage.

It is a strong aftershock of Friday's magnitude 7.7 mainshock. The survey's event page for that mainshock is the same one Monday's story used.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs published Situation Report No. 03 as of 2:30 p.m. local time on Oct. 12, before the aftershock. Authorities report about 1,250 affected homes, mostly in Los Santos, Veraguas, Coclé, and Herrera. Not all of those homes need rebuilding. The Ministry of Housing is assessing which ones need repairs. The report also counts 16 bridges, churches, and public buildings damaged, 29 health facilities and 619 schools affected, and 27 people injured. It says there are no reports of deaths or missing people.

More than 800 people were in shelters, mostly in Veraguas, Colón, and Los Santos. Many others were sleeping outdoors or staying with relatives for fear of aftershocks. The University of Panama's Institute of Geosciences has recorded more than 350 aftershocks. They are getting weaker, the report says, but they could continue for weeks, possibly close to a month. Rain and landslides are delaying access to some communities.

Monday's story on this site used an earlier United Nations report: more than 820 homes and 419 schools. This story uses the newer report above. It does not include damage from Monday evening's aftershock. This desk found no official count of that yet.