PANAMA CITY — A fresh 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck Panama on Friday, compounding a day of terror as the nation reeled from an earlier, massive 7.7 magnitude tremor. The U.S. Geological Survey confirmed the second significant jolt, which occurred as emergency crews were still scrambling to assess damage from the morning’s primary event.
The initial 7.7 earthquake, which struck just 10 kilometers southwest of the remote community of Pitaloza Arriba, left a trail of destruction across the central provinces of Herrera, Veraguas, and Los Santos. As residents of Panama City gathered in the streets in fear, seismologists at the University of Panama reported a harrowing sequence of more than 45 aftershocks, with several measuring between 5.2 and 5.8 in magnitude before the secondary 6.6 quake hit.
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino issued a plea for calm, urging citizens to avoid panic. “What happened should not be used to cause alarm or disorder,” he wrote on social media. Despite the intensity of the shaking, officials reported no immediate mass casualties, though injuries were confirmed. Omar Smith of the National Civil Protection Service noted that one person was struck by debris in the city of Penonomé, where local landmarks including the cathedral and the Dos Continentes hotel suffered significant structural failures.
In Los Santos, the historic Church of San Atanasio—a national heritage site dating back to the colonial era—suffered a devastating collapse. Large fissures were reported tearing through roadways in Veraguas, complicating rescue efforts in the rural interior. While Tocumen International Airport in the capital suspended operations to conduct safety checks, the Panama Canal Authority reported that global trade transit was continuing, though specialized teams were deployed to inspect the critical infrastructure.
The scale of the disaster triggered widespread concern beyond Panama’s borders. The National Weather Service issued tsunami warnings for the coasts of Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala, with projections of waves reaching up to 9 feet. The alerts extended as far as Chile’s Easter Island, which was placed under a precautionary advisory.
Panama, which sits along the volatile “Ring of Fire,” experiences frequent seismic activity due to the convergence of the Cocos, Nazca, and Caribbean tectonic plates. Friday’s events mark the most significant seismic threat to the region since a deadly 1991 earthquake devastated the Bocas del Toro border region.
International support began to pour in almost immediately. Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella offered his country’s full assistance, signaling the regional gravity of the situation. Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in Panama confirmed it is monitoring the welfare of American citizens, many of whom reside in the country as retirees.
As night fell over the region, the dual threat of ongoing aftershocks and the lingering tsunami warnings kept thousands of Panamanians in a state of high alert, awaiting further information from emergency services.
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