PANAMA CITY, PANAMA – A strong earthquake struck a lightly populated area of Panama near its border with Costa Rica on Wednesday, causing some wooden porches to collapse and products to shake from store shelves.
Panamanian authorities said at least two people had been injured in a village but gave no details. Sigifredo Perez, head of operations for Costa Rica’s National Commission of Emergencies, said no major damage or injuries had been reported in his country.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a 6.7 preliminary magnitude and was centered offshore southeast of the town of Plaza de Caisan. The quake occurred at a depth of 19 kilometers.
Images posted on social media showed simple wooden homes that partially collapsed in rural areas, deep fissures in tightly packed beach sand and entire grocery store shelves that spilled containers of processed food and bottled beverages on the floor.
