Panama Reopens 772 Schools in Phases After Quake: Teachers Return October 20, Classes Still Suspended in Four Hard-Hit Provinces
Panama City — Panama's Ministry of Education (Meduca) announced that 772 schools across the country will resume classes in phases this week following the powerful October 9 earthquake: administrative staff returned on October 19, teachers returned on October 20, and students in 12 education regions return to classrooms on October 21. Classes remain suspended in the hardest-hit provinces of Coclé, Veraguas, Herrera and Los Santos, pending school-by-school safety assessments.
Marcela Herrera, Meduca's vice minister for infrastructure, said about 80 percent of the country's 3,112 schools show no structural damage and can receive students, while inspections of the remaining campuses continue. The National Civil Protection System (Sinaproc) reported on October 20 that more than 900 aftershocks have been recorded, decreasing in frequency and intensity, and that 46 shelters remain open for displaced families, with assistance continuing for more than 22,000 affected residents.
Damage assessments are advancing in parallel. Technical teams have inspected more than 9,200 homes covering some 30,200 people, classifying each property as safe to reoccupy, in need of repair, or requiring reconstruction, and more than 800 schools have been evaluated. The housing ministry has updated construction plans to the 2021 seismic code and announced that new homes will be built to earthquake-resistant standards.
The October 9 quake, centered near the Azuero Peninsula in southern Panama, damaged hundreds of schools and more than a thousand homes; the government previously declared a national state of emergency and authorized $100 million for relief and reconstruction. Sinaproc also warned that heavy rain and thunderstorms through the night of October 21 have already caused isolated flooding and fallen trees in areas including Panamá Norte, requiring recovery work to guard against secondary hazards.
Source: Compiled from Prensa Latina and AVN reporting of October 20, 2026, and Centroamérica 360.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 巴拿马 Boquete 一所小学，FranHogan 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0（Wikimedia Commons）
