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Vivienda rural panameña con grietas por el terremoto, inspectores hablando con una pareja y ayuda humanitaria apilada junto a la casa
Imagen alusiva: una vivienda agrietada tras el sismo, con inspectores y ayuda para la familia afectada.

Panama confirms third death after the October 9 earthquake

The CSS confirmed the third death from the magnitude 7.5 earthquake of October 9: an 86-year-old woman died on October 30 after being hospitalized since…

--- The context --- Panama is still counting the human cost of the magnitude 7.5 earthquake of October 9, which struck at 12:56 in the afternoon, with its epicenter 39 kilometers northwest of Tonosí, Los Santos, and a depth of four kilometers. The quake mainly affected the central provinces and damaged homes, schools, health facilities and public infrastructure, with vertical ground displacements of up to three meters in Tonosí and Mariato and subsidence of 15 to 30 centimeters in Isla Cañas. --- The facts --- The CSS confirmed the third death: an 86-year-old woman, hospitalized since October 14 at Ciudad de la Salud, died on Friday, October 30 at 10:45 in the morning, 21 days after the quake. She received specialized care and follow-up from a multidisciplinary team, but the CSS did not detail her injuries or the place where she was hurt. The National Civil Protection System still counted two dead and 27 injured, a figure yet to be updated after this announcement. The first victim was Elena Barría Vargas, 68, who died on October 14 after a wall collapsed at her home in Macaracas, Los Santos, causing abdominal injuries from a metal structure. Rescued by relatives and neighbors and operated on in the capital, she died after cardiac arrest according to relatives, after brain death had been reported earlier. The second victim was Regina Miranda, 60, who died on October 22 at Luis Chicho Fábrega Hospital, Santiago de Veraguas. Doing administrative work at Rómulo Arrocha school, she tripped over a ditch during evacuation, suffered severe traumatic brain injury and remained in a coma. Assessments record 17,058 homes inspected and 55,245 people registered. Authorities inspected 853 educational centers, 619 with damage, and 120 health facilities with damage. They identified 166 pregnant women and 2,244 people with disabilities requiring priority care. There are 135 shelters holding 4,428 people, more than 208,317 pounds of aid by air and 365 tons by land, 175 communities served and 38 air evacuations, across Los Santos, Herrera, Veraguas and Coclé. --- The positions --- The CSS presented the death as confirmed and described the specialized care provided, without clinical details. The National Civil Protection System keeps the earlier count, so the official update remains pending. --- What remains unknown --- The official toll of dead and injured still needs updating. The 86-year-old woman's specific injuries and the place where she was hurt also remain unknown, because the CSS did not specify them. --- Unanswered questions --- When will the updated official toll be published? What injuries did the third victim have and where was she hurt? How many inspected homes will be declared uninhabitable? --- EPM analysis --- All three deaths came days after the quake, among people with serious injuries, extending the emergency. The priority is care for pregnant women, people with disabilities and hospital patients, plus transparent assessments for each family. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, this third death requires Panama to treat the emergency as a crisis that is still open, not as a closed toll. Every figure must be updated quickly and every affected family deserves clear information about its home, its health and the aid available. Care for the 166 pregnant women, the 2,244 people with disabilities and those still in shelters must be a sustained, verifiable priority, because rebuilding fairly begins by protecting first those left most exposed after the earthquake.
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