I was sitting at Joel’s desk looking at photos, and I felt the floor vibrate. For a city girl this isn’t anything unusual. Who’s doing construction in the street, or was that a subway passing underneath us? But, here on our quiet street, in our sturdy block house, the floor shouldn’t vibrate. I’m sure I felt something, but I wasn’t sure it was something noteworthy.
Then, today, I saw these headlines, and some of the local forums also have comments from others who felt it too.
In all my years I have never felt an earthquake! Thank goodness it wasn’t anything serious that did any damage. I know earthquakes happen here but from what I understand the plates slide over each other instead butting into each other, so there’s less chance that there will be a very destructive earthquake, thank goodness.
Panama doesn’t have a lot of natural disasters. According to Prevention Web, floods are the most frequent problem. The most people killed were from epidemics, then storms, earthquake (1991 – a 7.8 in Costa Rica that also affected Panama), and floods. Over the last 30 years, 276 people died from natural disasters, an average of 9 per year. That’s not bad odds.
The Panama Adventure 
welcome to the world of rock and roll! yes, mother earth stretches her spine every so often.. if we didn’t get those little ones, she would store up that energy and expel it in a larger one!
glad it was an easy one!
z
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I remember my first “tremor” back in 1979 in Santa Barbara CA. Freaky,
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You’re here reading my blog?! Ut oh, am I making you want to come to Panama even more? We’re so happy here! Leave FL, burn the garage, get on a plane!
This earthquake tremor felt like sitting on the ground floor somewhere in New York City while the subway passes underground, nothing that seemed freaky, just odd. I know CA has more serious tremors. A couple have freaked out Amy too.
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I know it happens here so I thought that might be what it was. If we get a harmless tremor now and then, no problem! Much better than storing it up for a big one, for sure.
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Hi Chris, i remember sitting on my couch & it shuddered & move, just for a few seconds………..i could not understand what was happening or happened. turned out is was an earthquake in the Gulf about 250 miles out. this was in sept. 2006 & felt in Florida & Texas. hardly a soul believes me that it actually happened, but it did!!! at least we can say, we’ve felt ‘the earth move’!.
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Wow, really?! I was in FL then too and don’t remember anything like that. Maybe I was in the car blaming everything on traffic 😀 If there was an earthquake, it makes sense that if you were sitting quietly you would have felt it.
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Wow .. from reading your blog I though panama was paradise but the tremors is something to keep it on earth. I still love it base on the picture you paint. In Barbados we are hurricane prone, but we have not had a serious one since 1955 .. we get the equivalent to your shakes. Enjoy your paradise on earth!
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Nah, the tremor was really nothing, just something new to me. This may be about as close to paradise as you can get on earth, at least for us.
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I believe so. enjoy it.
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I used to live in Alaska and then Ca, so I’m no stranger to earthquakes. We used to get some doozies. After awhile you stop paying a lot of attention anymore. Thank goodness it was never serious enough to kill anyone. The most damage was a lot of broken stuff in the kitchen and one in Alaska where the front porch completely sunk out of sight. It was concrete. The rest of the house was ok except for things that came off shelves, etc and the fridge that ended up on the other side of the kitchen. Stuff like that.
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The porch was gone, and the fridge on the other side of the kitchen?! Yikes, now that would shake me up a bit more, literally and figuratively.
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We had one about ninety minutes from my house here in Louisa, VA. So abnormal, and I felt it in my office under the wood floor boards! It was “only 3” on Richter Scale but it rocked all the way up to DC! Catches you off guard and makes you feel super unsteady (and nervous!) for the rest of the day! I hear that Boquete area feels them a bit (even if Panama doesn’t usually get earthquakes) from when Costa Rica gets rocked. Stay safe with your feet firmly on the ground!
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VA? One doesn’t usually think of earthquakes in that area. I think tremors happen all over Central America, and I think people in Panama feel them on a somewhat regular basis. I’d rather have frequent tremors than severe earthquakes any day.
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It was odd! And this is why the Washington Monument is closed down (it cracked). And the Washington Cathedral cracked up as well. Washington DC is 90 plus miles from the epicenter of our earthquake that happened in Mineral, VA (a very small town close to Louisa and also close to my lake house in BUMPASS–yes, that is the town’s name lol).
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Like Z says, “Welcome to ground surfing 101.” I don’t think I will ever get used to the temblors, but the statistics you provided are really reassuring. 🙂
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If they don’t do more than this, just a vibration in the ground, it won’t be a problem. If my patio is gone and my fridge is on the other side of my kitchen like Sunni described above, then there will be blog posts about freaking out a bit more!
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Last October my boys (who live in Boston) felt a 4.0 quake that originated in Southern Maine. They described it much as you did!
Glad it didn’t register higher and damage your beautiful area!
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This one was a 4.4 if the news is correct, so it makes sense it felt about the same. Thank you yes, I’m glad no one and nothing was damaged either!
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