Strong Quake Rattles Panama’s Mosquito Coast; No Reports of Damage

John McCarthyPosted oninAt VIFreep, Breaking News, Caribbean News, Environmental News, International News

PANAMA CITY (AP) — A strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck Tuesday off Panama’s Pacific coast near the town of Boca Chica.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake hit at 5:18 local time (22:18 UTC) and its epicenter was about 44 miles (71 kilometers) south of Boca Chica. The earthquake occurred at a depth of eight miles (13 kilometers).

Panama’s civil defense office said there were no immediate reports of damages. But the office said the quake was felt on nearby Coiba Island.

National Civil Defense Director Carlos Rumbo told local press that his office had not received reports of damage or injuries, but was continuing to check with people in the provinces along the Pacific coast.

John McCarthy

John F. McCarthy is a veteran journalist in the Caribbean, writing from the "Decision Space" where survival meets the surreal. His reporting steel was tempered by a lineage of legendary editors and broadcasters, including Ed Wynn Brant (The Bomb), Owen Eschenroder (Ann Arbor News), Lynelle Emanuel (BVI Beacon), and Charles Thanas (WSVI-TV). Alongside longtime colleague Kenneth C. "Casey" Clark, McCarthy has navigated the front lines of the territory’s history—from the 1997 volcanic "snow" to every major hurricane since Hugo. Known for leaning out of doorless helicopters to capture the "money shot," McCarthy now edits the V.I. Free Press, providing the essential link between the island's colonial past and its SpaceX future.