Latter-day Saint families in Panama City, Panama, are working to help neighbors and friends after an earthquake struck the country on Friday, Oct. 9, with many aftershocks on Saturday, Oct. 10.
The initial 7.7 magnitude earthquake was followed by a 6.6 magnitude quake and the government of Panama declared a state of emergency on Saturday.
According to reporting by the Associated Press, hundreds of homes were damaged.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the country quickly jumped into action with the donation of 1,000 emergency kits to support families in need.
Those kits will help more than 5,000 people in the hardest-hit communities in the provinces of Veraguas, Los Santos, Herrera and Coclé, according to a news release on the Church’s Spanish-language Newsroom.
On Sunday, Oct. 11, members of the Church in the Chitré District distributed nearly 100 food and hygiene kits to 75 families, benefiting approximately 300 people in the province of Herrera. And on Tuesday, Oct. 13, the Church delivered 600 emergency kits to the National Border Service and the National Civil Protection System. Both institutions are working to provide assistance and strengthen relief efforts across the country. An additional 300 kits will be delivered to the Office of the First Lady.
Members of the Tocumen Panamá Stake helped prepare, load and distribute the humanitarian supplies.
There are nearly 64,000 Church members in Panama, who are in 80 congregations across the country, according to the latest information from the Church.
