Saturday 10 / October / 2026
A powerful magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck Panama on Friday morning.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the quake's epicenter was located approximately 10 kilometers (6 miles) southwest of the remote community of Pitaloza Arriba, near Panama's southern tip.
The quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometers. Shallow earthquakes (up to 70 kilometers deep) are considered more dangerous and destructive.
The USGS later reported that a second powerful earthquake, measuring 6.6 in magnitude, struck the country following a series of aftershocks.
The tremors were strongly felt in the capital Panama City, causing buildings to shake and sending people rushing into the streets.
"We felt it very strongly. It knocked things over in the kitchen, but we're okay, though we're very scared," Rosendo Domínguez, 60, who is from Herrera province, where the earthquake struck, told The Associated Press by phone. “Everyone is outside, scared."
Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino described the earthquake as a "major disaster" which had destroyed roads near the epicenter.
