Home · World · Oct 9 archive
7.6-Magnitude Earthquake Hits Panama, Triggers Tsunami Warnings
Confirmed
In Short: A powerful 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck Panama, prompting tsunami warnings across Central and South America.
A powerful 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck Panama on Friday, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), with the epicenter located near the southern town of Tonosí, as reported by The Guardian (United Kingdom) and The Jerusalem Post (Israel).
The earthquake, which occurred just before 1pm local time, was felt strongly in Panama City and San José, the capital of neighboring Costa Rica, as reported by Philenews (Israel) and Arabnews (Saudi Arabia).
Al Jazeera (Qatar) and Arabnews (Saudi Arabia) reported that the US National Weather Service issued tsunami warnings for Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala, while The Jerusalem Post (Israel) noted that the US Tsunami Warning System issued alerts for potential hazardous tsunami waves along the Pacific coastlines of several countries.
The USGS reported that the earthquake was centered about 10 kilometers southwest of the remote community of Pitaloza Arriba along the Pacific Ocean coast, as confirmed by Al Jazeera (Qatar) and News4Sanantonio.
Videos shared by La Prensa showed the tower of a historic building had collapsed along with several balconies of a residential building in Penonome, a city about halfway between the epicenter and Panama City, as reported by Al Jazeera (Qatar) and The Jerusalem Post (Israel).
Residents of Panama City reported feeling tremors, with buildings shaking and people evacuating into the streets, according to Al Jazeera (Qatar).
The earthquake was felt very strongly by Rosendo Dominguez, a 60-year-old resident of Herrera province, who told The Associated Press that it knocked things over in his kitchen, as reported by Al Jazeera (Qatar), Arabnews (Saudi Arabia), NBC News, and News4Sanantonio.
At least four more aftershocks, registering magnitudes between 4.8 and 5.0, were detected across the southern tip of the country in the two hours following the initial earthquake, as reported by NBC News.
Omar Smith of the National Civil Protection Service said the damage was concentrated in the central provinces of Veraguas, Herrera, and Los Santos, as reported by NBC News.
The National Civil Protection Service is investigating possible damages in regions near where the earthquake took place, as reported by News4Sanantonio.
As of now, there are no confirmed reports of significant damage or casualties in Panama, but local agencies are assessing the situation, as reported by Newsradio WOOD 1300 and 106.9 FM.
The Institute of Geosciences of the University of Panama said the quake struck at just before 1pm local time near the southern town of Tonosí, as reported by The Guardian.
What this adds
The earthquake's magnitude was initially reported at 8.0 by Kanivatonga (New Zealand) but was later revised to 7.6 by the USGS.
The tsunami warnings were issued for several countries in Central and South America, but the threat has since passed according to the USGS and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
Background
The U.S. Geological Survey reviewed the quake at magnitude 7.7, and the Pacific center's final message says the tsunami threat has passed.
What's confirmed
- The US National Weather Service issued tsunami warnings for Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Guatemala on Friday following the quake.
- “We felt it very strongly. It knocked things over in the kitchen, but we’re okay, though we’re very scared,” 60-year-old Rosendo Dominguez, who is from Herrera province, where the earthquake struck, told The Associated Press news agency by phone.
- Videos shared by newspaper La Prensa showed the tower of a historic building had collapsed along with several balconies of a residential building in Penonome, a city about halfway between the epicenter and Panama City.
- Chile’s naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service also issued a tsunami warning.
- It struck at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles).
- A powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake occurred Friday near the southern coast of Panama, at a depth of approximately 10 kilometers, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
- Following the shock, the US Tsunami Warning System issued alerts for potential hazardous tsunami waves within three hours along the Pacific coastlines of Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico.
What's still developing
- There have been several destructive earthquakes in the region this year.
- Authorities are monitoring the situation, and any further warnings will depend on the evolution of seismic activity and the assessment of risks to coastal communities.
- “We’re scared. It’s just the two of us old folks here. The house has cracked, and we’re afraid it could fall on us,” said Ricardo Brown, 74, speaking by phone from the Las Minas area in Herrera province in southern Panama, where he noted the quake damaged a number of homes.
- Hurricane warnings issued for Mobile and Baldwin counties, Alabama. 14 outlets told this the same way.
- The National Hurricane Center forecast landfall between Biloxi, MS and Panama City, FL on Friday evening with wind speeds of 95-105 mph, and the Alabama Emergency Management Agency said Isaias would rapidly drop to tropical storm-force winds of 65 mph soon after landfall very early Saturday morning.
Sources
- Al Jazeeralink
- Arabnewslink
- BBClink
- Informat.rolink
- NBC Newslink
- News4Sanantoniolink
- Newsradio WOOD 1300 and 106.9 FMlink
- Newsweeklink
- Philenewslink
- The Guardianlink
- The Jerusalem Postlink
- Newscordlink
- Kanivatongalink
- WarpBeat — background on Magnitude 7.7 Earthquake Strikes Panama, and the Tsunami Threat Has Passed link
- ABC7 — video link