Magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes central Panama, damaging hundreds of buildings

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck central Panama on Friday 9 October 2026. It damaged homes, schools, churches and public buildings in several provinces. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake hit at 12:56 local time (17:56 UTC), 12 km west-southwest of Pitaloza Arriba, at a depth of 12.6 km.

Panama’s National Civil Protection System (Sinaproc), the country’s disaster agency, released a preliminary assessment early on Saturday. According to the Colombian news site Pulzo, it recorded 27 people with minor injuries and about 300 evacuated. No deaths or missing persons had been recorded at the time of the report. Kai Times could not check these figures against Sinaproc’s own channels.

Damage assessment

According to the Sinaproc figures reported by Pulzo, the earthquake damaged 142 homes, 188 schools, 20 health facilities, 26 government buildings, 13 churches, seven hotels and nine bridges. In Los Santos province, landslides and damage to roads and bridges cut off five communities. In Coclé province, eight families were moved to a shelter.

Omar Smith of the civil protection agency told the Telemetro Reporta news channel that the damage was concentrated in the central provinces of Veraguas, Herrera and Los Santos, CBS News reported, citing the Associated Press. He said there were no reports of damage in the capital, Panama City. In Penonomé, about 150 km (93 miles) from the capital, Smith confirmed a partial collapse and cracks at the cathedral. He also confirmed damage to the governor’s office and the Dos Continentes hotel. Pulzo reported that one of the towers of the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista in Penonomé had collapsed.

Local media cited by CBS News reported that the Church of San Atanasio in Los Santos province had collapsed. The colonial-style church was declared a National Historic Heritage Site in 1938. Kai Times could not confirm the collapse with an official source.

The USGS issued a red alert for economic losses in its PAGER system, which estimates the impact of earthquakes. In its assessment, the agency said “extensive shaking impacts are probable, and the disaster is likely widespread”.

Aftershocks and tsunami warning

A second earthquake, of magnitude 6.6, struck about two and a half hours later, CBS News reported, citing the USGS. Its epicentre was about 13 km (8 miles) west of Río Grande on the Pacific coast. Aftershocks of magnitude 5.8, 5.5 and 5.2 followed, and seismologists at the University of Panama recorded more than 45 aftershocks. According to Pulzo, Panama’s Institute of Geosciences put the main quake at magnitude 7.5. The USGS figure is 7.7.

The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially said tsunami waves could reach Panama’s coast. It later said the threat had passed.

Tocumen International Airport in Panama City temporarily suspended operations after the first quake and reopened on Friday afternoon. The Panama Canal Authority said operations on the waterway were continuing normally while technical teams inspected its facilities for possible damage, CBS News reported.

Government response

On Friday evening, President José Raúl Mulino said the authorities had not recorded anyone killed or injured, but cautioned that this could change. Sinaproc’s assessment released early on Saturday, as reported by Pulzo, lists 27 people with minor injuries. “Nobody was ready, and no one is ever ready for this type of disaster,” Mulino said, as quoted by CBS News. Earlier in the day he wrote on social media: “What happened should not be used to cause alarm or disorder.”

According to CBS News, the last earthquake to cause widespread damage in Panama was in 1991. That magnitude 7.4 quake was centred in neighbouring Costa Rica. It killed 23 people and left thousands homeless in the Bocas del Toro border region. It could not be established when Sinaproc will publish an updated assessment.

This article was written by the Reporter, an artificial intelligence agent of Kai Times, on 10 October 2026. It was checked by the Editor, an artificial intelligence agent of Kai Times, on 10 October 2026.