Watch: TV broadcast interrupted, panic in malls as Panama City shaken by 7.7 earthquake

Countries including Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Chile have received warnings after the quake.

5 min readOct 10, 2026 06:40 AM IST First published on: Oct 10, 2026 at 06:40 AM IST

People stand outside a building after an earthquake struck Panama City. (Photo: AP)

Video shows a TV broadcast interrupted as the earthquake struck, and people rushing out of shopping malls in Panama City on Friday, 9 October. A magnitude 7.7 earthquake hit southern Panama, damaging buildings and sending thousands of people into the streets, Reuters said. Crowds gathered in squares, parks and outside buildings as the ground shook, The Associated Press (AP) said.

The country appears to have avoided wide destruction and deaths. The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake hit at a depth of 12.6 km, in a thinly populated area about 200 km from the capital, and that some casualties were possible. Reuters said the Panama Canal was working as normal.

WATCH: A magnitude 8.0 earthquake interrupted a live television broadcast in Panama. https://t.co/FZlkosWD65

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) October 9, 2026

Crowds stood in squares, parks and outside shopping centres in the capital after offices were emptied as a precaution, AP said. Rosendo Domínguez, 60, who is from Herrera province, told AP by phone that things fell over in his kitchen. “Everyone is outside, scared,” he said.

Terremoto en Panamá, así fue en el centro comercial Town Center, confirmen si todos están bien. https://t.co/rSf55u0rnA

— 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧𝐝𝐲. (@johndvch_) October 9, 2026

In Penonomé, a city about 150 km from the capital, the bell tower of the cathedral fell, AP said. Reuters said President Raul Mulino travelled to the city, where some buildings collapsed and a church was damaged.

A resident of San Francisco, a district of Panama City, said the shaking was strong enough to make buildings sway and to spill water out of swimming pools.

WATCH: Footage shows damage inside buildings following a massive earthquake in Panama. https://t.co/agV2ouU15Z

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) October 9, 2026

The person shared a video filmed from their home. The resident also described large waves on the Pacific coast and said the sea can change in seconds.

🌊😱 The Pacific showed all its strength! The waves looked like something out of a movie, but the danger was completely real. Giant swells hit the coast, reminding us that the ocean can change in a matter of seconds. 🌊💥 📍 These waves are caused by storms that form thousands of kilometers away in the Pacific. The energy travels for days until it hits the coast with enormous force. ⚠️ Why are they so dangerous? 🌊 They can overcome walls and coastal walks. 🌪️ They generate strong return currents capable of dragging people into the sea. 🚧 They force the closure of beaches, docks and coastal areas. 💥 The so-called "surprise waves" can appear even when the sea seems calm. 🚨 If the authorities issue a warning for storm surges, do not go near the shore. A photo or video is never worth more than your life.

— Nature’s Beauty (@Nature_Beauty11) October 8, 2026

Damage and injuries

Omar Smith of Panama’s civil protection service said damage was mainly in the provinces of Veraguas, Herrera and Los Santos, and that none was reported in the capital, AP said. He said several people were hurt, including one struck by debris in Penonomé. Large cracks ran along roads in Veraguas, AP said.

Mulino said on Friday evening that no deaths had been documented, but warned that this could change in the coming hours or days, AP said. He called for calm and said the event should not be used to cause alarm.

Footage shows the Albrook Terminal in Panama shaking during the powerful M8.0 earthquake. https://t.co/NyBIyM4TLP

— Weather Monitor (@WeatherMonitors) October 9, 2026

More than 40 aftershocks followed, Reuters said. AP said they included quakes of magnitude 5.8, 5.5 and 5.2.

Tsunami warnings and travel

The National Weather Service lifted its tsunami warning for the coasts of Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Guatemala, AP said. Alerts from El Salvador and from Chile for Easter Island were also lifted. Nestor Luque of the University of Panama said waves of 1 to 3 metres were expected near Isla Canas and the southern coast of Los Santos, and that seawater had reached homes on Isla Canas.

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Tocumen International Airport reopened on Friday afternoon after a pause in operations. The Panama Canal Authority said work on the canal was continuing as normal while teams checked its sites for damage, AP said.

Region on alert after earlier quakes

AP said twin quakes in Venezuela in June killed more than 6,500 people, and a magnitude 7.4 quake in Colombia in August killed at least 289. Reuters said the USGS estimated about 43,000 people in Panama lived in areas with severe or greater exposure to the shaking, far fewer than in the Venezuela and Colombia events.

The USGS estimated economic losses could amount to 1 per cent to 10 per cent of Panama’s gross domestic product, and electricity ‌provider Naturgy reported power outages ⁠in six provinces.Panama was due to hold a national evacuation drill on Monday of next week to test the country’s emergency response.

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