Panama begins reopening its school system in phases from Tuesday 13 October, four days after the earthquake that shook the centre of the country and left 656 schools with damage. Of those, 35 are permanently out of use.
"Tenemos 35 escuelas que ya no existen" — we have 35 schools that no longer exist — said Education Minister Ventura Vega as he announced the reopening timetable.
The quake struck on Friday 9 October at 12:56 local time (17:56 GMT), with its epicentre about 10 kilometres from Pitaloza Arriba, in Herrera province, in the south-central part of the country. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) settled on a magnitude of 7.7 after revising initial estimates of 8 and 7.6; several Panamanian reports put it at 7.5. More than a hundred aftershocks followed in the first days, some close to magnitude 6.0, along with a second quake of magnitude 6.6.
No deaths have been reported. Agence France-Presse reported at least 27 minor injuries nationwide on the day of the quake, based on a statement from Sinaproc (the Sistema Nacional de Protección Civil, Panama's civil-protection agency); that same agency's official bulletin number 8, with data up to 11:30 on Monday 12 October, records two people with minor injuries in Panamá Oeste and no one missing.
Two school systems, two dates
Meduca, the Ministerio de Educación (education ministry), split the return into two stages. The country's 894 private schools — some 140,000 students and 11,000 teachers — may resume classes from Tuesday 13 October, each on its own responsibility and only after confirming that its buildings are safe; the ministry warned owners in writing not to reopen before assessing structural risks. Public schools, which serve more than 802,000 students with 56,640 teachers, reopen gradually from Wednesday 14 October, as technical teams complete structural inspections.
Meduca is inspecting all 3,112 school facilities in the country, spread across 16 regional offices. Most of the damage is to suspended ceilings, tiles and wall coverings; other buildings need full reconstruction. Schools not fit to receive students may switch to online teaching: "All possibilities are open," Vega said.
The calendar leaves little room. Thirty-four school days remain, and graduations are scheduled between 11 and 18 December. About 120 staff from psycho-pedagogical teams are supporting students and families alongside Sinaproc.
Shelters, homes and isolated communities
The tally from Sinaproc and the emergency operations centre lists 14 shelters housing 598 people, and 1,744 families assessed. In Los Santos, three shelters hold more than 210 people.
Housing damage is concentrated in four provinces: 420 homes partly or totally damaged in Veraguas, 318 in Coclé, 302 with partial damage in Herrera, 28 destroyed in Chiriquí, 29 old tenement houses in Colón and one home in Darién. Ten communities remain cut off — five in Los Santos, including Isla Caña, and five in Herrera — by damaged bridges and roads and by landslides.
Housing and Land Planning Minister Jaime Jované announced on Monday 12 October the construction of a first 1,300 homes for affected families, giving priority to the most vulnerable. No cost was disclosed.
In health, the Ministerio de Salud (health ministry) reports 67 of 842 facilities damaged and estimates repairs at about 61 million dollars. The rural hospital in Tonosí will be replaced rather than repaired: it will operate first in tents and later in a modular building. More than 6,000 people have been medically assessed and 405 dialysis patients were relocated on 11 October.
The logistics of relief
By Monday, 69,685 pounds of humanitarian aid and 240 tonnes of water had been flown to communities and hospitals. The Instituto de Mercadeo Agropecuario (IMA, the state agricultural marketing agency) delivered food to 86 communities — 28 in Herrera, 27 in Veraguas and 31 in Los Santos — using 60 vehicles, and its director, Nilo Murillo, announced the reopening of all 17 Tiendas del Pueblo state shops on Tuesday, from 7:00 to 11:00.
The government of José Raúl Mulino declared a national state of emergency and allocated up to 100 million dollars for relief and reconstruction. The United States announced 5 million dollars in humanitarian aid, plus specialists and food deliveries by helicopter; CAF, the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, donated 250,000 dollars for immediate care and made 50 million available through its emergency financing line. Colombia, Ecuador and Guatemala offered to send aid.
The Panama Canal is operating normally. Tocumen International Airport closed temporarily on the day of the quake, with several flights diverted, and later resumed operations.
With information from Sinaproc, Infobae, Telemetro, TVN, El Colombiano/AFP and Ámbito.
