PANAMA CITY (AP) — A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake shook Panama Friday morning, collapsing buildings near its epicenter and prompting evacuations across the country.
The earthquake, which was felt as far away as the neighbors Colombiawas centered about 10 kilometers (6 miles) southwest of the isolated community of Pitaloza Arriba in the central Herrera province, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It struck at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles).
The USGS initially reported the earthquake as a magnitude 8, then revised it to 7.6, then 7.7.
Visibly shaken residents of Panama City gathered outside as they waited for news of the impact of Friday’s earthquake.
“We felt it very strongly. It knocked things over in the kitchen, but we are fine, although we are very scared,” Rosendo Domínguez, 60, from the province of Herrera, where the earthquake struck, told the Associated Press by telephone. “Everyone is outside, scared.”
Multiple aftershocks continued to shake Panama, several measuring magnitudes 5.8, 5.5 and 5.2. Seismologists at the University of Panama recorded more than 45 aftershocks, although many were too weak to be felt.
Calls for calm and reports of collapsed buildings
Panamanian President José Raul Mulino On Friday, he called for calm, writing on X: “What happened should not be used to cause alarm or disorder. »
Omar Smith of the National Civil Protection Service told the Telemetro Reporta news channel that damage was concentrated in the central provinces of Veraguas, Herrera and Los Santos. According to him, no damage was reported in the capital, known for its hundreds of skyscrapers.
Smith said several injuries were reported, including one person struck by debris from a partially collapsed structure in the town of Penonomé, about 150 km from the capital. It confirmed partial collapse and cracks in the cathedral located in the district’s main square, as well as damage to the governor’s office building and the Dos Continentes hotel. No casualties were immediately reported.
Local media also reported that the Church of San Atanasio, a colonial-style Catholic church in Panama’s Los Santos province, had collapsed. The church was declared a national historic heritage site in 1938. Elsewhere, notably in the province of Veraguas, large cracks ran along the roads.
Tocumen International Airport in Panama City, one of the region’s busiest airports with more than 20 million travelers in 2025, announced it would temporarily suspend operations and activate evacuation plans. He said operations would resume once security conditions had been verified.
The Panama Canal Authority said operations were continuing as normal along the world’s main trade route. It said its priority was the safety of employees, vessels and crews and that specialized technical teams were inspecting facilities for possible damage.
People gather in front of a shopping center after the earthquake that hit Panama City, Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Aris Mariota)
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Tsunami warnings to Easter Island in Chile
The last major earthquake to cause significant damage in Panama occurred in 1991. A 7.4 magnitude earthquake, centered in neighboring Costa Rica, killed 23 people, injured 559 and left thousands homeless in the border region of Bocas de Toro.
Earthquakes are common, particularly along the Panama-Costa Rica border and its Pacific coast, due to the interaction of several tectonic plates, including the Cocos, Nazca, and Caribbean plates.
Panama is located along the “Ring of Fire” a 40,000-kilometer (25,000-mile) arc of volcanoes and fault lines around the Pacific basin, where most of the world’s earthquakes occur.
The National Weather Service issued a tsunami warning Friday for the coasts of Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Guatemala. It warned that waves ranging from 3 to 9 feet (1 to 3 meters) above tide could occur in some coastal areas of Panama.
Alerts were also issued in El Salvador and as far as Chile’s Easter Island, about 3,500 kilometers (2,175 miles) off Chile’s mainland coast. The Chilean government has placed the island under a precautionary advisory.
Neighboring countries sent messages of support on Friday afternoon. Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriellawhose country was recently hit by earthquakes, expressed solidarity with the Panamanian people and their government in what he called “difficult times.”
“Panama is not alone! You can count on Colombia’s support and our complete willingness to provide all necessary assistance,” he wrote on X.
The U.S. Embassy in Panama said it was “closely monitoring” the aftermath of the earthquake and considering the well-being of its citizens in Panama, a well-known retirement destination for Americans.
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Janetsky reported from Mexico City and Solís from Panama City. Gabriela Molina in Quito, Ecuador, Clara Preve in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Eléonore Hughes in Rio de Janeiro, María Verza in Mexico City, and Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, contributed.
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Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
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