Panama's government declared a state of emergency Saturday after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the country's Azuero Peninsula, damaging hundreds of homes, schools and historic churches and injuring at least 27 people. No deaths had been reported.
The quake struck at 12:56 p.m. local time Friday, Oct. 9, about 12 kilometers west-southwest of the community of Pitaloza Arriba on the Azuero Peninsula, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, as reported by Euronews and Latin Times. Latin Times put the depth at about 12.6 kilometers, shallow enough to increase shaking at the surface. Estimates from Panamanian scientists differed: Latin Times reported a local reading of 7.2, while The Rio Times said the University of Panama's Geosciences Institute measured 7.5.
Damage across central Panama
Panama's civil protection agency, Sinaproc, reported about 27 people injured, with light to moderate wounds, and no fatalities in its preliminary count. Most of the injured, 17, were in Coclé province, with the rest in Los Santos, Panamá Oeste, Herrera and Veraguas, Latin Times reported. Officials said the worst damage was in Herrera, Los Santos and Veraguas provinces, with none reported in the capital.
More than 426 homes had been inspected, with damage ranging from cracks to total collapse, The Rio Times reported, citing Sinaproc. Twenty-one health facilities were damaged, and the Education Ministry counted 188 affected schools as of Friday evening. About 300 people were moved to safety on Isla Cañas after the sea rose.
Video circulated by local media showed part of a cathedral collapsing and a hotel facade falling onto a car in Penonomé, Euronews reported. Latin Times reported that a tower of Penonomé's San Juan Bautista Cathedral crumbled and that the colonial-era Church of San Atanasio in Los Santos province collapsed entirely. Ecker Geopolitics could not independently verify the full list of damaged historic churches.
René García, Sinaproc's emergency operations director, told CNN there had been 147 aftershocks in the first hours, Latin Times reported. By Saturday afternoon the count had passed 170, including four above magnitude 6, the largest a 6.9, The Rio Times reported. The quake was felt in parts of neighboring Colombia.
Tsunami alert lifted
A tsunami warning was issued for parts of the eastern Pacific on Friday and was later lifted, Euronews reported.
The canal and the airport
The Panama Canal Authority said vessel traffic continued normally and sent engineers to inspect facilities, according to Latin Times. No damage to the canal was reported. Tocumen International Airport briefly suspended operations for inspections and resumed service within hours, though it was pausing flights after felt aftershocks for runway checks, The Rio Times reported.
The epicenter was roughly 200 kilometers from the canal, Latin Times reported.
Government response
Minister of the Presidency Juan Carlos Orillac announced the emergency declaration after a Cabinet Council meeting Saturday. It lets ministries redirect money and personnel to affected areas without the usual procedural delays. President José Raúl Mulino named a three-person commission, including Orillac and Canal Affairs Minister José Ramón Icaza, to direct aid and repairs.
"Nobody was ready, and no one is ever ready for this type of disaster," Mulino said, according to Latin Times. He also urged calm on X, writing that what happened "should not be used to cause alarm or disorder," Euronews reported.
Panamá América and Infobae reported emergency spending of up to $100 million, but neither cited an official source and no decree had been published, The Rio Times reported.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the State Department was monitoring reports from Panama.
Why it matters
Panama is a close U.S. partner and home to the canal, a strategic chokepoint for global shipping. The quick confirmation that canal traffic continued normally limited the immediate economic shock, but the full cost of damage to homes, schools and clinics in the rural interior is still being tallied.
What's next
Officials are still counting damaged homes and displaced families, and they have not said when schools in the hardest-hit provinces will reopen. Aftershocks are expected to continue for days or weeks. Watch for a published emergency decree, a confirmed budget and the scale of U.S. and international assistance, which The Rio Times reported had begun arriving.