(prensa.com) Civil defense agency Sinaproc reported late Friday that Panama’s Pacific coast was not impacted by the tsunami that was created by the massive earthquake off the coast of Japan.Sinaproc Director Arturo Alvarado announced Friday that the country was not in any danger from the waves. The agency had issued numerous warnings throughout the day after the earthquake, which registered 8.9 on the Richter scale. The earthquake and resulting tsunamis caused thousands of deaths in Japan.
Sinaproc officials said that there were issues raised by the alert, namely by people going to the port at Puerto Armuelles, in Barú, in anticipation of seeing the tsunami. The people went to the area despite a Sinaproc warning to stay away from coastal areas.
The tsunami had a minor impact on wave heights in parts of Mexico, and had virtually no impact in Costa Rica, which prompted Panamanian authorities to lift the tsunami alert at about 6:30 p.m.