M7.7 Earthquake — 12 km WSW of Pitaloza Arriba, Panama

Measurements

Measured by

Earthquake data courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey

This is a scientific measurement of an event that has already happened. It is not a warning, and it does not tell you what to do.

Not rated by source. US Geological Survey does not publish a severity for this; the level shown is our own classification.

View original report

Also reported by: EMSC EMSC EMSC EMSC EMSC EMSC EMSC EMSC EMSC EMSC EMSC EMSC EMSC EMSC GDACS EMSC EMSC

This event as JSON · API and licence

Source updated 9 days ago (Oct 10, 2026 17:53 UTC) · we last heard from US Geological Survey 31 seconds ago

What has changed

• Magnitude revised from M7.6 to M7.7 — Oct 9, 18:29 UTC by US Geological Survey

Figures published in the first minutes of an event are preliminary. A change here is the agency refining its own estimate, not a correction to this page.

What USGS has published since this earthquake

Aftershock forecast

USGS gives a 63% chance of at least one aftershock of magnitude 5 or larger in the week to 25 Oct 2026, an 11% chance of magnitude 6 or larger, and a 1% chance of magnitude 7 or larger.

USGS puts less than a 1% chance on an earthquake larger than this magnitude 7.7 following in the week to 25 Oct 2026.

Since the mainshock USGS has recorded 84 aftershocks of magnitude 3 or larger, 16 of them magnitude 5 or larger.

USGS forecast issued 18 Oct 2026 16:11 UTC, reviewed by USGS seismologists. A forecast gives chances, not times: it cannot say when or where an aftershock will strike.

Shaking and its likely impact

USGS estimates about 210,000 people were exposed to very strong shaking or worse (intensity VII and above), and about 610,000 more to strong shaking (intensity VI).

USGS's PAGER system gives a yellow alert for deaths, with 10 to 100 the most likely range; and an orange alert for economic losses, with $100 million to $1 billion the most likely range. These are estimates from a model of the shaking and the population it reached, not a count.

USGS PAGER, automatic.

Reports of the shaking

USGS received 1,969 "Did You Feel It?" reports; the strongest shaking reported was intensity VIII (severe).

How far the shaking reached

• Very strong shaking (intensity VII) or more reached about 80 km from the epicentre at its farthest.
• Strong shaking (intensity VI) or more reached about 140 km from the epicentre at its farthest.
• Moderate shaking (intensity V) or more reached about 260 km from the epicentre at its farthest.
• Light shaking (intensity IV) or more reached about 340 km from the epicentre at its farthest.

USGS ShakeMap, automatic: an estimate built from seismic stations, felt reports and a model where there are neither. Distances are in a straight line from USGS's epicentre; the lines on the map above are USGS's contours, simplified. Shaking varies with the ground, so a place inside a line may have felt less or more.

From the U.S. Geological Survey. The USGS event page has the maps and everything USGS has published for this earthquake.

Official authorities in Panama

If you are there, these are the bodies whose instructions apply. This site is not an emergency service and does not issue warnings.

• SINAPROC — Sistema Nacional de Proteccion Civil
• Instituto de Meteorologia e Hidrologia de Panama (IMHPA)

More for Panama →

General safety information

No authority has issued instructions for this event. The guidance below is general background reading, not a response to it.

Drop, Cover, and Hold On — what to do before, during and after an earthquake, plus emergency kit and family plan checklists.

Open Earthquake Safety Guide →