About 38.000 people in Panama need humanitarian aid after magnitude 7,5 earthquake, UNICEF estimates

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimated in its first figures that about 38.000 people in Panama need humanitarian assistance after a magnitude 7,5 earthquake. UN News reported that 8300 of them are children and adolescents. UN agencies are both the source of these figures and responders to the emergency. This paper cannot check the figures.

UN News reported that the earthquake damaged more than 820 homes. Some hospitals have set up temporary spaces to keep treating patients, and some communities are without water and electricity. At least 29 health facilities were damaged. In Tonosí, near the epicentre, the hospital's pharmacy area was destroyed and some patients were evacuated by air. In other facilities, pediatric and maternity services were affected. The lack of water temporarily interrupted treatments such as hemodialysis.

More than 260 people remain in temporary shelters, according to the most recent data cited by UN News. About 300 people were evacuated from Isla Cañas after the sea level rose following the quake. No deaths or missing people have been reported. Authorities count 30 injured. The Government of Panama declared a national state of emergency and authorized the use of up to 100 millones de dólares, as UN News gives the figure, for response and recovery.

Getting aid to the worst-hit areas is a main difficulty. In Tonosí, damaged roads and bridges limit access to light vehicles. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest report that six communities in Los Santos and Herrera were still cut off. UN News also reported that closed shops and cash machines that were not working made it hard to get food and basic goods, even for people with money to buy them. OCHA said heavy rain could cause floods and landslides where soil and buildings are already weakened.

Several UN agencies have acted. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) sent 16,8 tonnes of relief items from its emergency warehouse in Panama, including tents, blankets, mosquito nets, kitchen utensils and a prefabricated storage unit. The World Food Programme is installing three mobile storage units and arranging better satellite communications in Tonosí. The UN Development Programme (UNDP) activated its rapid assessment tool to identify recovery priorities. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) activated its emergency mechanisms and is supporting coordination of medical teams and damage assessments.

UNICEF donated 16 tents to Panama's Ministry of Health. Two have been set up at the San Miguel Arcángel Hospital in San Miguelito. The rest are going to hospitals in Chiriquí, Herrera and Los Santos. UNICEF has also sent emergency teams to Coclé, Veraguas, Herrera and Los Santos to assess needs for water, schooling and child protection. It said early visits found emotional distress among children and adolescents, and it is preparing psychosocial support.

UN News reported that the earthquake damaged 419 schools. A later UN News report, published four days after the earthquake, gave updated figures. Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the Secretary-General, said more than 8000 children need humanitarian help. He said authorities told the UN that 656 schools were damaged and that classes remain suspended. The sources do not explain the difference between the two school counts, or between the 8300 and more than 8000 child figures. The later report said damage is concentrated in Veraguas, Coclé, Herrera and Los Santos, and that aftershocks continue to frighten families. UNICEF said it needs 2,5 millones de dólares for urgent needs and early recovery.

UN News said assessments are continuing, especially in hard-to-reach rural communities, where the full extent of the damage and the population's needs are still unknown.