In brief
On October 9 at 15:00 local time, a 7.7‑magnitude quake shook Panama’s south‑central region, with an epicenter 10 km from Pitalóza Arriba. Roughly 4.6 million people felt significant tremors, while footage shows collapsed churches and hotels in towns such as Penonomé and Soná. The shallow 12 km depth caused widespread damage, prompting evacuations in Panama City, though damage was largely limited to falling debris. Authorities have assured residents that the Canal remains operational and that rescue efforts are underway, with no reported deaths so far.
Panama struck by a 7.7‑magnitude earthquake. The tremor hit just before 15:00 local time (18:00 GMT) on Friday, registering 7.7 on the Richter scale.
The epicentre lay 10 km south‑central of the town of Pitalóza Arriba, prompting 4.6 million people in the region to feel moderate to severe shaking, per the US Geological Survey.
Video footage shows collapsed churches, a hotel, and severely damaged homes in Penonomé, Soná, and the Las Minas neighbourhood of Herrera province.
No casualties reported. Local residents, such as 74‑year‑old Ricardo Brown, remain shaken but unharmed, though many had to evacuate buildings in Panama City, 200 km from the epicentre.
The quake’s shallow depth of 12 km caused many buildings to suffer structural damage and heightened concerns about aftershocks, which were later reported.
Panama’s president, José Raúl Mulino, announced that the government was mobilised, reassuring residents that the Panama Canal remained unaffected and that no tsunami threat had emerged.
This event came just days before a national earthquake evacuation drill and follows earlier major quakes in Colombia and Venezuela.
