By: Staff Writer
October 13, 2026
A 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked Panama on Friday followed by a second quake registering 6.6, injuring at least 27 people and buckling buildings and prompting evacuations to save lives.
The earlier quake, felt as far away as neighboring Colombia, was centered about 10 kilometers (6 miles) southwest of the remote community of Pitaloza Arriba, in the central province of Herrera, the USGS said. It struck at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles).
Visibly shaken residents of Panama City gathered outside as they waited for news of the quake’s impact on Friday.
“We felt it very strongly. It knocked things over in the kitchen, but we’re okay, though we’re very scared,” Rosendo Domínguez, 60, who is from Herrera province, where the earthquake struck, told The Associated Press by phone. “Everyone is outside, scared.”
The US Geological Survey said the quake struck at 12:56 pm local time (1756 GMT) with an epicenter 10 kilometers (six miles) from the small town of Pitaloza Arriba in central Herrera province.
The USGS initially estimated it to be a magnitude-8.0 quake before revising it down to 7.7.
A tsunami warning was issued for the eastern Pacific but later lifted.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X on Friday that he was “closely monitoring” the situation, with his office “rapidly mobilizing resources and personnel to assist,” at the Panamanian government’s request.
The Panama Canal Authority said shipping through the channel, which connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, was unaffected and operating “as normal.”
In the popular resort town Playa Venao, a multi-story building collapsed and crushed several cars beneath it.
Along the Panama Canal, the Centennial Bridge’s suspension cables were seen shaking as vehicles drove through.
The canal authority said operations were continuing as normal and that staff were inspecting facilities for damage.
Earthquakes are rare in Panama and usually occur in western Chiriqui province, bordering Costa Rica. Former president Ricardo Martinelli posted pictures on Instagram of his house in the town of Sona in Veraguas province that collapsed. A church and a hotel in Penonome also suffered extensive damage, images shared on local media showed.
More than 80 aftershocks, one above magnitude 6.0, were recorded by the local geosciences institute. The Panamanian quake is at least the fourth quake this year in Latin America surpassing 7.0 in magnitude, after devastating back-to-back earthquakes in Venezuela’s Guaira in June and a powerful earthquake in western Colombia in August.