Four Days After the Earthquake: Gratitude, Resilience, and Moving Forward in Panama
Updated: 3 days ago
It's been exactly four days since the earthquake, and we wanted to write to everyone who has checked in on us, those that are wondering how we are doing, and those that have plans to come visit this beautiful area of Panama.
First, and most importantly, we are okay. Our team, our animals, and our eco resort are all safe. We have had some minor damage due to bottles falling off the shelves, and our beloved, beautiful pottery, but all those things can be replaced. We feel very fortunate for how well we fared through this wild experience.
Since moving here in 2015, we became accustomed to the small tremors that occur on occasion but never an earthquake anywhere close to this scale. We are located approximately 14 miles (23 km) west of the epicenter of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck on the 9th at almost 1 PM. We, along with our team grouped together immediately afterwards to ensure that everyone was safe as well as their families at home and then went about assessing the damage and cleaning up.
As we cautiously worked, we were receiving updates from friends and family in our surrounding community and around the country. In our area, some homes, buildings, and roads have been badly damaged and some destroyed completely. Here at our resort we are especially fortunate that our solar power system meant we were able to maintain our electricity and our own well provided us with water. In our surrounding community after nearly four days without electricity, power and water have been restored to most homes and the road is now passable.
With the return of essential services like power and water comes a huge sense of relief. We are still feeling aftershocks but those are subsiding too. Though it can never feel fast enough, to have this essential infrastructure restored already is quite impressive given the remote location and we are grateful to the government for their quick action and support to the remote regions of Panama, and our thoughts are with those who are still dealing with the effects of the earthquake.
This experience has made us reflect on the decisions that went into building our resort back in 2015. I remember thinking about when we built our home in Colorado at 10,000 ft (3,048 m) how it would surely be easier at sea level - you don't have to deal with snow loads, and 6 ft (1.8 m)of freezing depth for the foundation. Boy, was I wrong!
Thanks to our architect and building team we quickly learned about seismic foundations. Our remote location presented plenty of challenges, and creating the foundations for our buildings to meet seismic design requirements was one of the most difficult, labor intensive parts.
To protect the trees delicate root systems and surrounding nature, we had to dig everything by hand. We knew this would take a lot longer but in the end it would protect the delicate eco system, the ground from erosion, and the beauty we are all here for. At the time, we knew it was an important part of building responsibly in an ecosystem where monkeys call the canopy home, and a country where earthquakes are a reality.
Now, having been through a major earthquake with our buildings still intact we really understand more deeply why those decisions were so important. We feel very grateful for the care that went into the planning, construction, and daily managment of the process. It's important also to accept the fact that no building is guaranteed to make it through an earthquake without damage, but this experience has reinforced the importance of the thoughtful engineering, preparation, and construction management that went into creating Morrillo Beach Eco Resort.
An earthquake makes everyone nervous. It interrupts life, our sense of security and reminds us how little control we have of the world around us. Members of our community are facing genuine hardship and though there is a lot of support, we hope everyone recovers as smoothly as possible.
Here at Morrillo Beach Eco Resort, life is slowly normalizing again. Our team is here, our animals are cared for, our resort is safe, and we are looking forward to welcoming and hosting our guests.
Panama is a beautiful, vibrant country and this earthquake doesn't take away from that. Our beaches, our jungles, wildlife, communities, and people are what make this place so extraordinary and it's all still here to welcome our visitors from around the world. We write this today to let you know more about what we have created here at Morrillo Beach Eco Resort so you know it's a safe place to visit with those that you love and our arms are open to receive you.
Tourism supports us, our employees and their families, nature, and helps our community thrive. We know it's important to be safe and we sympathize for those whose homes and livelihoods have been affected. But, we want to encourage travelers to seek reliable information and visit us in Panama this year and every year.
This earthquake quickly became global news prompting family, friends, past guests, and colleagues to reach out to let us know they have been thinking of us and to ensure that we are safe. Every message has meant so much to us and it is a wonderful feeling to know that people near and far are thinking of our little area of Panama and we are truly grateful for everyone's kindness, concern, and thoughtfulness.
Panama is still its beautiful self. We are grateful to be here every day, and we hope you will continue to discover it, support it, and fall in love with it, just as so many travelers have before.
With love from Morrillo Beach Eco Resort,
Cari & Ryan Mackey
Owners and hosts
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