Overview
- The quake struck on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, near Pitaloza Arriba/Tonosí at a shallow depth and was first flagged by the USGS as magnitude 8.0 before being revised to about 7.6–7.7 while Panama’s Instituto de Geociencias reported lower values around 7.0–7.2.
- Hundreds of people evacuated high-rise buildings in Panama City and other towns after strong shaking, and local officials reported structural damage in places such as Penonomé and provinces including Herrera, Veraguas and Los Santos with no confirmed nationwide fatalities in initial reports.
- A robust aftershock sequence followed, with agencies reporting roughly 10 to more than 30 replicas in the hours after the main shock and some aftershocks measured near magnitude 6.0, prompting continued caution and inspections.
- U.S. tsunami warning centers issued precautionary advisories for Pacific coasts across multiple countries, including Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico, and authorities monitored sea levels while some alerts were later reassessed as more data arrived.
- Emergency operations remain active: schools and some services were suspended, flights were temporarily halted for checks, seismologists continue to refine the quake’s parameters, and officials warn that shallow ruptures like this one tend to amplify surface shaking and raise the risk of local damage from strong aftershocks.