7.7-magnitude earthquake strikes Panama, damaging buildings, roads and bridges

Panama City, Panama, October 10, 2026 — A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Panama on Friday, shaking the capital, Panama City, and damaging buildings, roads and bridges in several parts of the Central American country.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake occurred at 1:56 pm local time on Friday. Its epicentre was about nine miles southwest of Pitaloza Arriba, in the Azuero Peninsula, several hours from the capital.

A strong aftershock followed at 4:25 pm, with a preliminary magnitude of 6.9. Seismologists identified aftershocks as a major immediate concern following the main earthquake.

The El Sitio Hotel in the coastal town of El Venao, near the epicentre, collapsed. No casualties were reported at the hotel. Several houses developed cracks, a bridge was damaged and electricity supplies were disrupted in the affected area.

“The most important thing right now is that, so far, there have been no casualties,” Mayor Batista told Panama's television channel Telemetro.

According to Panama's national civil protection agency, the provinces of Coclé, Los Santos and Panama suffered the most damage. Government buildings, church towers, hotels, a water treatment facility and roads were among the structures affected.

Injured people were taken to health centres for treatment, but authorities had not released a definitive assessment of the overall damage.

Information provided by Panamanian officials to Telemetro indicated that around a dozen structures collapsed in the city of Penonomé. Six buildings in Aguadulce sustained significant damage. At the Dos Continentes Hotel in Penonomé, part of the building collapsed onto vehicles parked nearby, according to footage released after the earthquake.

Jorge Sánchez, a senior police official in Coclé Province, said the governor's office and a cathedral had also been damaged.

The earthquake was felt in Panama City, where videos shared on social media showed people leaving buildings and gathering in the streets as structures shook. The capital's metropolitan area has a population of approximately two million.