I was at my desk sipping a peppery chai, trying to wake my sluggish brain.
A black-as-night fanged monster slumbered on the sofa beside me.
I scritch-scratched his head and took another sip. And in that quiet happy-it’s-Friday moment, my apartment started to shake.
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I’d already lived through a couple tremors. But as the shaking intensified, the word that sprang to mind was much more horrifying: Earthquake. It was the scary thing I always knew could happen… And now, like some big cosmic joke, it was happening. In the spookiest month of the year. Dizzy Boy craned his neck to look at me with his golden Halloween-cat eyes, but showed no other sign of surprise. I tried to remember the correct protocol—should we be in a doorway? “Not sure that applies up here on the 20th floor,” I second-guessed. Then I heard the building alarm, an ear-piercing banshee shriek meant to drive us all out. It was the jolt I needed. Right—evacuate. So I grabbed the cat, stuffed him into a pet backpack I’d bought just for such an event, and headed downstairs.
Disasters Bring Out the Best in People
What I found was a gaggle of neighbors chitchatting by the pool like it was just another day in paradise. Everyone doing exactly what they were supposed to. Someone had brought out a five-gallon jug of water and paper cups. People came over to say hello and get a drink. The mood was calm and convivial, soothing my jangled nerves. I heard a woman ask: “Did someone check on Keith and Carolynn?” The guy next to her nodded, and began to list neighbors that were safely out.
Why were people so chill? Call it “the Panama effect.” Sit in any waiting room and you can see—patience is sort of a national attribute. (And when the chips are down, Panamanians know how to make the best of it. I’ve seen it time and time again.)
And why would anyone live in a tower in a seismically active country? It’s not because we’re daredevils. We’re just folks who’ve done our research. For years I’ve been explaining to anyone who asked: I feel safe in my condo because highrises in Panama are incredibly well built. They’re flexible—made to bend and sway in an earthquake, not break. This country’s building code, drafted in the 1970s, was modeled on California’s. Because—well, they know some stuff about quakes. But over the years it’s gotten even tougher, and more tailored to Panama. A 1994 edition set stricter rules for single-family homes, and a 2014 update incorporated new fault-line studies from the massive (successful) Panama Canal expansion. Soon after the quake—confirmed as a magnitude 7.7—a friend sent me a video that was making the rounds. A girl on the waterfront in Panama City, showing off her view: A million bright lights sparkling in the night.The biggest skyline in Latin America, standing tall and proud.
The caption was simply this: “All my respect to the architects and engineers of Panama.” Reader, we all felt that way.
Just Another Day in Paradise
Here in Coronado Beach, I live in a single spindly tower on a world-class golf course. Once we’d evacuated, our staff went floor to floor—34 in all—to look for structural damage. They called neighbors on the “May Require Assistance” list to offer help. And once the competent authority gave the all-clear (about three hours after the quake), we were told we could go back in. “But be ready for aftershocks or to evacuate quickly again,” said our guard. I shouted it out in English for any who hadn’t understood. Dizzy demon-cat yowled his unhappiness at being out of his territory. Or maybe he was translating for his fellow felines. During and after the emergency we received email and WhatsApp updates. The next day, a structural engineer was brought in for an official inspection. Needless to say, our board and administrators do a bang-up job running the building.
The country is run just as efficiently. The Canal kept operating. The international airport—the Hub of the Americas, as it’s known—ramped up after a few hours on pause. All across Panama, locals and expats were abuzz. How proud and impressed we all were!
Panama has ranked number one on IL’s Annual Global Retirement Index many times, and infrastructure is a major factor—everything from the excellent roads to the best internet in the region. But to live through an earthquake and still have power and potable water—that’s the true measure of Panama.
No lives were lost, though there was some sad damage near the epicenter, on the Azuero peninsula. A lot of the affected structures were low-income homes, while newer builds fared well. “We are all good here,” said my friend Jim Gault. He and his wife Abbe are IL readers and longtime contributors living in Azuero’s main expat haven, Pedasí. “The support is amazing. Expats and locals are working together and donating together.”
Despite how fortunate we all feel, I do get a little freaked out at times. In the days following the “big one,” we had a great many aftershocks . And yes, my heart was pounding on that fateful Friday. But Mother Nature can strike anywhere. If you’re not risking drought, you’re risking floods or wildfires or something else. At least here, tough times are met with calm, kindness, and good sense. So I’m certain—more certain now than ever—that if disaster is to find me, I’d rather be found in Panama.
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