Hey again friends and family! We are all safe and sound in Panama, but I thought I would let you know what went on from our end!
Here’s what happened:
Yesterday an earthquake happened about 16 miles off the shore of Chile. Here’s a picture:
Panama was protected from any sizable waves by the northern part of South America and the little cove we are situated in.
Additionally, our house is approximately 10 km from the shoreline (we are situated between Las Lajas and San Felix, so we are farther inland than the screenshot below portrays). When the 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck Japan, the resulting tsunami reached up to 6 miles, or 10 km inland. Given our distance from the earthquake’s epicenter and our distance from the shore, it’s not likely that we would have been in any danger should a tsunami have reached Panama.
Once we found out about the earthquake and a possible tsunami I immediately called the office and then our local contact, Danny. In the office a team of logistics people were monitoring the tsunami and were in constant discussion and contact with me about what our next move would be. Danny spoke to his neighbors and checked with Panamanian officials and said there was no threat of danger for us. Ultimately, in the name of caution, the Adventures office and I decided to move away from the beach to our friend Mauren’s house in San Felix.
This put us another 10 km away from the shoreline, so by the end of the night we were approximately 20 km away from the beach.
We spent the evening watching Mrs. Doubtfire and Pitch Perfect!
Now, moving on to this morning, there was a 5.8 magnitude earthquake in a town called Pedregal.
Pedregal is about 1.5 hours from here and we felt a slight tremor earlier today. It only lasted a few seconds and it wasn’t particularly crazy, it just felt like we were on a boat.
This earthquake was on land, so the risk of a resulting tsunami was diminished. This seismic activity is considered to be an aftershock of the earthquake in Chile, which, according to the internet, is to be expected.
So, in summation, we are all safe here, the team is doing ministry, and the ground is stable beneath our feet!
Please feel free to get in contact if you have any comments, questions, or concerns.
-Dot
