Disasters · Panama earthquakePanama’s 7.7 Quake Damages 400+ Buildings as Aftershocks ContinueAired October 10, 2026 at 10:13 AM UTCWritten October 10, 2026 at 10:19 AM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:09A magnitude 7.7 earthquake damaged more than 400 buildings in Panama.0:14At least 27 people have minor injuries, and about 300 people were evacuated.0:19Civil Protection reports no confirmed deaths or missing persons in its provisional0:23October 10th assessment, and the tsunami threat has ended.0:26Which damaged buildings can people safely return to while aftershocks continue?0:30The earthquake struck near Pitalosa-Ariba in the Azuero Peninsula area.0:35Damage was concentrated in Herrera, Los Santos, Cochle, and Viraguas.0:39People felt shaking widely across the country and into neighboring countries, while0:44the damage assessment covered nine provinces.0:46The main shock hit on October 9th at about 12.56 in the afternoon, Panama time.0:51Its epicenter was 12 kilometers west-southwest of Pitalosa-Ariba, and its depth was0:5612.6 kilometers.0:58Scientists reviewed those earthquake measurements.1:00Early estimates included magnitude 8.0 and 7.6, before the preferred solution1:04settled at 7.7.1:06Panama's Geoscience Institute initially put the magnitude at 7.2 and later at 7.5.1:12Those estimates describe the same main shock.1:15The location and depth also carry uncertainty, so the epicenter's position doesn't1:19draw a boundary around where damage can occur.1:21The first earthquake listing had no injury or damage figures.1:25Early injury counts ranged from none to at least two.1:28Civil Protection's later assessment puts the minimum at 27, all described as minor1:32injuries.1:33The Fuller assessment also records evacuations and damage to hundreds of buildings.1:37Civil Protection reports at least 27 minor injuries, about 300 evacuees, and more1:42than 400 affected buildings.1:44It also reports no confirmed deaths or missing persons.1:48These figures are provisional, and the evacuation count doesn't tell us how many1:51people still need shelter.1:53Schools and homes account for much of the damage inventory.1:56Authorities also recorded affected roads and water plants.1:59Each category sits within the assessment.2:01The figures describe buildings with varying damage, so they can't tell families2:05whether an individual home is safe or whether a school can reopen.2:09The assessment includes 188 educational facilities and 142 residences.2:14It also lists 20 health facilities, 26 government buildings, 13 churches, 7 hotels,2:19and 9 bridges.2:20These categories belong within the overall damage assessment, and they describe2:24different degrees of damage.2:25In Panonomé, part of a hotel's rear structure collapsed and debris crushed parked2:30vehicles.2:30The three-story Hotel dos Continentes stands on the Pan American Highway.2:34Its occupants got out in time, and no injuries were reported at the hotel.2:38That evacuation came before the collapse caused casualties there.2:41A bell tower at the Cathedral de San Juan Bautista also suffered a collapse or2:46partial collapse.2:47Clergy were meeting when the earthquake struck, and no injuries were reported there.2:51The damage centered on a tower of the cathedral.2:54The Cochle governor's office developed cracks and suffered a partial collapse as2:58well.2:58These failures show the physical consequences behind the national count.3:02But the assessment includes a wider range of damage, and authorities still have to3:06determine which buildings can remain in use.3:09Government Minister Donosca Montalvo reported 15 pupils with minor injuries in3:13Cochle.3:14Civil Protection Deputy Director Malizzi Rivera helped deliver response updates.3:18Nistor Luke, who leads the university's Geoscience Institute, linked the earthquake3:23sequence to the Azuero-Sona fault system.3:25The student injuries were an early local count.3:28Their place within the later national total hasn't been clarified, so they shouldn't3:32be added to the 27.3:33Luke also described about 40 seconds of shaking in Panama City.3:37Power interruptions affected multiple provinces.3:40Takuman International Airport temporarily suspended flights and evacuated people as3:44a precaution.3:45Aircraft diverted to destinations including Colombia and Costa Rica.3:49Flights resumed on October 9th after inspections of the runways, airport facilities,3:53and control tower found no damage preventing operations.3:56Returning diverted aircraft became a priority.3:59The Panama Canal continued normal operations, and the Cobre Panama copper mine was4:04reported operating normally.4:05Elsewhere, a powerful aftershock struck later that afternoon, extending the sequence4:10beyond the original earthquake.4:11A magnitude 6.6 aftershock struck 14 kilometers west of Rio Grande at about 3.254:17that afternoon.4:18It's the strongest specifically timed aftershock in the reviewed sequence.4:21A further magnitude 6.0 event was reported on October 10th.4:25Local preliminary magnitudes for aftershocks varied, including a figure of 6.9.4:29The reviewed measurement for that timed Rio Grande event is 6.6.4:34The local Geoscience Institute's updates eventually counted at least 1074:38aftershocks.4:39Totals vary with the agency, the smallest events it counts, and the reporting4:42cutoff.4:43The initial earthquake page listed 300 voluntary felt responses and a maximum4:47community intensity of 8.5.4:50Intensity describes local shaking.4:52A separate model estimated about 4.6 million people exposed to moderate through4:56severe shaking across the affected area.4:58Later felt response totals changed and differed across pages.5:02Those voluntary responses can't count everyone who felt the quake, and their initial5:06total of 300 has no connection to the approximately 300 evacuees.5:10Magnitude measures the earthquake itself.5:13Shaking intensity describes what happened at particular locations.5:16The automated impact assessment moved from pending to an overall red alert.5:21Its late October 9 snapshot carried an orange fatality warning and a red economic5:25loss warning.5:27It estimated possible losses equivalent to 3 to 30 percent of Panama's economy.5:31The model warned that significant casualties were likely and extensive damage was5:35probable.5:35It hadn't been reviewed by a scientist, even though scientists had reviewed the5:39earthquake's measurements.5:40Its loss range is a modeled estimate.5:42Authorities haven't produced a national repair bill, and earlier model versions gave5:46different ranges and fatality color.5:47The detailed model estimated about 180,000 people in severe shaking and 14,000 in5:53violent shaking.5:54Those figures measure exposure to shaking.5:56Civil Protection's provisional report of no confirmed deaths describes the human6:00toll found so far.6:01The difference between that warning and the reported toll is substantial.6:04The final field assessment will show how the modeled risks compare with the damage6:08on the ground.6:09The tsunami forecast also changed as the earthquake was analyzed.6:12Threat bulletins were issued despite the original earthquake page displaying a6:16tsunami flag of no.6:17An earlier forecast allowed for waves of 1 to 3 meters on some Panama coasts and6:22below 0.3 meters elsewhere.6:24A separate disaster model estimated 1.1 meters.6:28These were forecast heights, and the two systems used different alert scales.6:31The initial threat covered Pacific coasts from Panama and neighboring Colombia and6:35Costa Rica through Ecuador and Peru and northward to Mexico.6:39It used preliminary earthquake parameters.6:41The final tsunami bulletin still carried magnitude 7.6 and a depth of 33 kilometers,6:47even as the preferred earthquake solution changed.6:49The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center ended the threat in its final message.6:53It advised normal caution near the sea and said minor sea level fluctuations could6:58occur nearby over the following hours.7:00Nobody has reported a destructive tsunami impact from this earthquake.7:04A separate northern assessment also found no danger to California, Oregon,7:08Washington, British Columbia, or Alaska.7:11On land, the remaining work is to inspect affected homes and public facilities,7:15update the human toll, and decide where people can safely return.7:18Authorities haven't completed those building safety assessments, and aftershocks7:22continue.Explore with HeyDexFollow via RSSThe shortThe short ↗