A 68-year-old woman died on Wednesday from injuries sustained during last week's 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Panama, officials said, marking the first death recorded in the natural disaster.
Thousands have been left homeless following Friday's temblor, which injured around 30 people and caused severe damage to buildings, bridges and roads, blocking access routes in the country's central region.
The victim, identified as Elena Barria, "was seriously injured during the earthquake," according to a statement from Panama's social security officials.
Local media reported she was a resident of Macaracas in the hard-hit central province of Los Santos.
‘Major disaster’
The shallow quake struck at 1756 GMT on Friday, with its epicentre about 10 kilometres from Pitaloza Arriba in central Herrera province, according to the US Geological Survey, which initially measured it at magnitude 8.0 before revising it to 7.7.
The tremor lasted about a minute and was felt across the country. In Panama City, about 200 kilometres from the epicentre, people rushed to evacuate skyscrapers as buildings shook.
President Jose Raul Mulino called the quake a "major disaster" and travelled to Penonome to coordinate the response. Health Minister Fernando Boyd said Herrera, Cocle and Los Santos were among the hardest-hit provinces, with the town of Tonosi cut off by damaged roads.
Panama City's international airport was temporarily closed, and several flights were diverted. A tsunami warning for the eastern Pacific was later lifted, while the Panama Canal Authority said shipping through the waterway continued normally.
More than 400 aftershocks have been reported since the initial quake. Earthquakes are relatively rare in Panama and more commonly occur in the western province of Chiriqui, which borders Costa Rica.
