Earthquake Hits Northern Panama with Huge Damages

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, August 14, 2003

Earthquake Hits Northern Panama with Huge Damages

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A strong seism measuring 5.3 degrees on the Richter scale Wednesday jolted Panama, leaving no victims, but producing major damages on houses and buildings of the northern Panamanian province of Colon.

The Geoscience Institute of the Panama State University said the quake took place at 3:39 am local time (0829 GMT) and had its epicenter in the 9.8 degrees of northern latitude.

Thousands of residents in Panama City, the capital, and the Colon province abandoned their houses and took to the streets for fears of collapsing constructions.

In Colon, in the Atlantic Ocean littoral, 70 kilometers northeast of the capital, the earthquake made a wooden house inhabited by 19 individuals to collapse.

A 130-year-old church and tens of houses and buildings were damaged by the quake in Colon. Some areas of the region reported abrief interruption of the electricity service.

In the capital, rocked by the quake, automatic anti-theft alarms were activated in several vehicles.

The administrator of the Free Zone of Colon (ZLC), Jorge Fernandez, said a damage assessment of the spot is being made. ZLCis one of the most important duty-free areas of America.

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