A new earthquake of magnitude 6.4 on the open Richter scale has struck in the last hours the southern area of Panama, while the country remains under the state of emergency declared after the 7.2 magnitude quake on Friday, which left nearly 30 injured and considerable material damage in this Central American state.
The Geosciences Institute of the University of Panama detailed in a statement that the epicenter was located about 29 kilometers northeast of Coiba National Park, also specifying that the hypocenter was situated approximately two kilometers deep.
Authorities have explained that this new tremor is part of the numerous aftershocks of varying intensity that have been recorded after Friday's earthquake, which led Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino to declare a state of emergency the following day to organize the distribution of aid and initiate reconstruction tasks.
In this context, the Ministry of Education of Panama announced the suspension of classes on Monday "in all official and private educational centers in the country" with the aim of facilitating "inspections after the quake and its aftershocks" and assessing possible structural damage to school buildings.
"This preventive measure prioritizes safeguarding the physical integrity of students, teachers, administrative staff, and other members of the educational community," the ministry stated in a message disseminated on social media, in which it also emphasized that "acting prudently and maintaining calm is essential."