Panama earthquakes leave retired Calgarians living in unsafe home

It was Scott and Alison Paulin’s 37th anniversary on Wednesday, but instead of celebrating, the couple headed to the nearest cell tower with power to make a phone call.

The retired couple from Calgary made the move to Panama and warmer weather after consulting with doctors to help Scott with pain he experiences from cold weather due to a medical condition.

Now they are looking for a way to help pay for the damage to their home, which was devastated by multiple earthquakes that caused tens of thousands of dollars in damages.

On Oct. 9, Panama was hit with a 7.7 magnitude earthquake, followed by a 6.6 magnitude earthquake and over 500 aftershocks, that caused severe property damage to their “Casa Trinicana” in the Azuero Peninsula.

“The whole dynamic of the landscape changed,” he said. “The property sank, so our house actually stayed together, per se. The actual house and the garage house stayed intact, but the land below our house gave way.”

Scott lives off disability pension and they are unable to cover the cost for repairs.

“We used all of our savings to build the house,” he said. “We don’t have the money to rebuild.”

This week, the couple were supposed to receive their final inspection for an occupancy permit which would have allowed them to get home insurance and were unable to purchase it before the earthquake hit.

On Thursday, the couple will need to demolish their garage since it is not safe and they will inspect the property with an engineering firm to have an idea of what to do next.

Their plan is to put a secondary footing under their home to stabilize it and cost estimates are between $50,000 to $60,000 USD.

They bought the property about a year ago and started building their 600 square-foot home last November. Construction was nearly completed in June, with the couple moving between Calgary and Panama to visit their family while in the process of obtaining a visa through Global Affairs Canada.

It cost around $150,000 USD to buy the land and build their home, Scott said.

“We’re still having aftershocks and the house is still sinking,” Scott said. “We’re currently staying in the house. We don’t know if we’ll be able to continue to stay in the house or whether it’s going to be unsafe.”

They have no electricity and their their well was filled with sand forcing them to have it fixed.

They have experienced over 50 earthquakes since last Friday.

When the first earthquake hit, Alison was at home alone at the time while Scott was out.

“It was pretty scary (and) it took me a moment to realize what was happening,” she said. “You could just see the ground opening and I thought, ‘I gotta get out of here,’ so I ran up the road to another house where there were a bunch of construction people that I knew and they said to stay with them. I don’t really speak Spanish but they helped me.”

The workers helped check their home after the earthquake and Alison was told to wait for Scott to return home.

After hearing reports of tsunami warnings, they decided to leave as they thought it was unsafe.

“We packed a bag, took our kitten, we waited about two hours and nothing happened,” Alison said. “We came back into town but then we had another earthquake at about 3:30 p.m. We were sitting in the car, it just started shaking, and the electric poles were swaying. We drove around for a little bit. I still feel every shake. It doesn’t have to be a big shake. Like everything shakes.”

Their entire community was devastated by the earthquakes with the 20 homes in the area experiencing severe damage.

“There’s another family from Montana, they just moved down, a mom and dad, and they have five adopted children,” Scott said. “They just moved in and bought a house a few months ago. Their house sustained a lot of damage and they’re pushing through. And our Panamanian friend has a little wooden house, and their house broke in half.”

As for relief from the Panamanian government, Scott says that is still up in the air as they continue to assess the damage.

For now, the Paulins have started a GoFundMe to help recoup the cost to repair the damage to their home and any additional funds will help their community rebuild.

They are just waiting to see whether things will be better or worse.

It’s one thing to see these things happen on television, Scott said.

“But when you’re actually in one, it’s totally different,” Alison said. “It’s like ‘Oh my God, those poor people,’ and when you’re in it, that’s when you realize that you are one of those people. It’s terrifying. Your mind just plays tricks on you. It’s crazy.”

There are still earthquakes in the area, Scott said.

“I asked Alison if she wanted to go back up to Canada while things settled and I stay here to look after things, but she doesn’t want to be alone,” he said. “So we’re sticking it out here.”