A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck near Pitaloza Arriba on Panama’s southern coast at 12:56pm local time on Friday, the US Geological Survey said, at a shallow depth of about 10 km. The quake, initially estimated at magnitude 8.0 before being downgraded, prompted a US National Weather Service tsunami warning for Colombia, Ecuador and much of Central America’s Pacific coast. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, according to Reuters.
7.7-magnitude earthquake strikes Panama, tsunami warnings issued
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Panama's southern coast on Friday afternoon, prompting tsunami warnings for Colombia, Ecuador and much of Central America's Pacific coast.
Why it matters: The shallow quake near the Pacific side of the isthmus is the strongest to hit Panama in years, and the tsunami warning puts coastal infrastructure and shipping on alert.
Data as of Wikipedia page '2026 Panama earthquake' (opened and read in full), citing USGS, Reuters and the US National Weather Service tsunami page, October 9, 2026. Wire reporting from France24, BBC Mundo, El Pais Uruguay, Tal Cual, DR, Folha and ANSA corroborates the quake and tsunami warnings at headline level; article bodies could not be retrieved (most domains blocked to the page fetcher, one page returned 404, one rendered a footer only). Magnitude and damage figures may change as official assessments update.
Sources
- Powerful 7.6 magnitude quake shakes Panama, triggering tsunami warning · France 24 · 2026-10-09
- Un terremoto de magnitud 7,6 sacude la costa de Panamá · BBC Mundo (Spanish) · 2026-10-09
- Un potente terremoto de magnitud 7,6 en Panamá sacudió al país y provocó evacuaciones · El País Uruguay (Spanish) · 2026-10-09
- Terremoto de 7,7 se registró en Panamá: Servicio Geológico de EEUU alerta sobre tsunamis · Tal Cual (Spanish) · 2026-10-09
- 2026 Panama earthquake · Wikipedia · 2026-10-09