It has been reported that a strong earthquake, measuring a magnitude of six, shook Panama, early on Saturday morning, July 4, at 1:50 a.m local time. According to the reports of the US Geological Survey, there has been no immediate news of any casualties or massive damages. The epicenter of the tremor, that had taken place at 1:49 a.m (0649 GMT), is said to have been located 97 kilometers (or 60 miles) Northeast of the capital, Panama City and had struck at a depth of 26.8 miles, therefore making it quite a deep earthquake. Shallow earthquakes are generally known to cause more serious damage.

The reading which was recorded was based on the observations of the open ended Moment Magnitude scale, which is now used by the US seismologists. This technique measures the area of the fault that had ruptured and even takes in to account the total energy that has been released, due to the upheaval.

The moderately strong earthquake almost managed to rattle the whole perimeter of the Panama City and drive out the residents to the street.

The civil defense system director Arturo Alvarado has reportedly told one of the local radio stations that the earthquake tremors of Saturday morning “felt very strong”. Fortunately, the effect of the tremor downgraded very rapidly.

On May 8, an earthquake of the measure 5.2 on the Richter Scale was reported to have violently shaken the Panamanian province of Chiriqui, which is known to border Costa Rica. It was reported by the Institute of Geo-Science from the University of Panama, that the tremor was also felt in the regions of Veraguas, Bocas del Toro and in Costa Rica.