A 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck Panama on October 9, 2026, shaking buildings in Panama City and triggering tsunami warnings across Central and South America. New Zealand authorities quickly confirmed there was no domestic tsunami threat.
Magnitude 7.6 Tremor Strikes Southern Panama And Triggers Regional Warnings
The main tremor hit just before 1 pm local time and was centered about 14 kilometers (9 miles) southwest of the remote community of Pitaloza Arriba, near the southern tip of the country at a depth of 10 kilometers, according to the US Geological Survey along the southern coast of the country.
The Institute of Geosciences of the University of Panama recorded the event near Tonosí, followed soon after by a 6.0-magnitude aftershock at 1.22 pm. The US Geological Survey initially registered the main shock at magnitude 7.6, while New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency initially graded the tremor at magnitude 8.0 before downgrading it, and other agencies adjusted measurements to 7.7.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre warned that hazardous waves of up to 3 meters above tide levels were possible along the coast of Panama, alongside waves reaching up to 1 meter for parts of Ecuador. The US National Weather Service issued tsunami warnings for the coasts of Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. The hazard zone extended to Costa Rica, Peru, El Salvador, and Mexico, with local media in neighboring Colombia reporting that the shaking was felt strongly across the border.
Evacuations And Fear In Panama City And Herrera Province
In the capital, where hundreds of skyscrapers dominate the skyline, buildings shook and people evacuated into the streets. Across the Central American nation, residents fled into the streets as schools, homes, and buildings were evacuated. Local newspaper La Prensa reported that more than a dozen aftershocks rattled the region in the 40 minutes following the initial impact.
Rosendo Domínguez, a 60-year-old resident of Herrera province near the epicenter, described the intensity of the event to reporters by phone. Omar Smith of the National Civil Protection Service urged the public to remain calm, noting that initial damage reports were concentrated in the central provinces of Veraguas, Herrera, and Los Santos, while the capital escaped structural damage.
“We felt it very strongly. It knocked things over in the kitchen, but we’re okay, though we’re very scared. Everyone is outside, scared.”
Rosendo Domínguez, resident of Herrera province, via The Associated Press
Panama sits directly on the Ring of Fire, the extensive arc of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean where the vast majority of global earthquakes occur. Civil Protection officials continued investigating potential structural damage in regions close to the epicenter.
New Zealand Agencies Monitor Potential Tsunami Threats After Major Earthquake
Within minutes of the initial reports, officials confirmed that the tremor posed no danger to the country. Half a world away, New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and GNS Science immediately began reviewing whether the Pacific-wide disturbance could generate a threat to New Zealand shores.
NEMA and local authorities maintained their monitoring posture as aftershocks measuring up to magnitude 5.8 continued to register across the region.
Diplomatic officials worked to establish whether any New Zealand citizens were located within the impacted Central American zones.