The 1621 Panama earthquake, also known as the Panamá Viejo earthquake occurred between 16:30 and 16:45 (UTC−5) on 2 May. It is considered to be the first documented violent quake in the Isthmus of Panama, with the epicenter at Pedro Miguel Fault, with a maximum

Mercalli intensity The Modified Mercalli intensity scale (MM, MMI, or MCS), developed from Giuseppe Mercalli's Mercalli intensity scale of 1902, is a seismic intensity scale used for measuring the intensity of shaking produced by an earthquake. It measures the eff ...

of VII (''Very strong''). The quake shook and partially destroyed the Old Panama City, (

Panama Viejo Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cost ...

), which at that time was a town of about 5,000 inhabitants. It left extensive damage, especially with buildings made of masonry which were partially or fully destroyed. Among the buildings that suffered total collapse were the council, municipal, barracks and prison buildings, and the house of the judge of the Audiencia of Panama. The Convento de la Concepción and the Church of the Society of Jesus also suffered considerable damage, but were only partially rebuilt. The earthquake was preceded by a minor earthquake, which occurred between 9 and 10 am, and a small

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...

was reported by a witness, which flooded a street bordering the coast of Panama city.

References

Sources * Earthquakes in Panama 1621 earthquakes {{CentralAm-earthquake-stub

See also

References