7.7-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Panama, Damages Hundreds of Structures and Injures 27

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck central Panama at 12:56 p.m. local time on Friday, October 9, 2026, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The shallow quake, initially estimated at magnitude 8.0 before revision, had an epicenter about 10 kilometers southwest of the remote community of Pitaloza Arriba in Herrera Province and a depth of 12.6 kilometers. A magnitude 6.6 aftershock followed later the same afternoon, and more than 80 aftershocks were recorded, including several above magnitude 5.

Panama’s National Civil Protection System (SINAPROC) reported that at least 27 people sustained minor injuries and more than 400 structures were damaged. No fatalities or missing persons had been confirmed as of Saturday morning. Damage assessments listed 142 houses, four residential buildings, 188 educational facilities, 20 healthcare facilities, 26 government buildings, 13 churches, seven hotels and nine bridges affected. Multiple road sections and water-treatment facilities were also impacted. The worst damage was concentrated in the central provinces of Herrera, Coclé and Los Santos.

In Coclé Province, authorities reported 50 damaged homes, two hotels with significant damage, two hospitals, two schools, two churches and four government buildings. At least 17 people sustained minor injuries there, and eight families were relocated to a temporary shelter. A cathedral in Penonomé showed a partial collapse and cracks, and the governor’s office building and the Dos Continentes hotel were damaged. President José Raúl Mulino traveled to Penonomé to coordinate the response and described the event as a major disaster, noting that some roads had completely collapsed.

The Panama Canal Authority stated that shipping through the channel continued normally and that emergency protocols had been activated. Technical teams inspected facilities for possible damage. Tocumen International Airport lifted a temporary suspension on flights. The Cobre Panama copper mine also reported normal operations. Power outages occurred in six provinces, according to the electricity provider Naturgy. An early USGS estimate placed potential economic losses between 1 percent and 10 percent of Panama’s gross domestic product.

Tsunami warnings were issued for parts of the Pacific coast of Panama and neighboring countries shortly after the mainshock, but all warnings were lifted within hours. Waves of one to three meters above tide level had been considered possible along portions of the coast. The quake was felt across the country of roughly 4.5 million people and as far as neighboring Colombia. Residents of Panama City evacuated buildings and gathered in the streets. A widely shared video showed water cascading from a rooftop pool on a building more than 20 stories tall. Another showed a bridge over the Panama Canal shaking while vehicles continued to cross.

The event was the strongest earthquake in that part of Panama since at least 1951, according to the U.S. National Earthquake Information Center. An exposure report by the USGS estimated that about 43,000 people lived in areas with at least severe shaking. By Saturday, emergency teams continued to inspect damaged infrastructure, restore services and monitor the aftershock sequence. President Mulino said authorities had not documented any deaths as of Friday evening, while cautioning that the situation could change as assessments progressed.

The combination of a high-magnitude shallow quake, concentrated structural damage in central provinces, and the absence of fatalities so far has shaped the early response. The Panama Canal’s uninterrupted operation limited the immediate regional economic disruption. Recovery work on roads, bridges, schools and housing will continue in the days ahead as aftershocks persist and full damage tallies are completed.