Ecuador

Quito, October 10, 2026. For Ecuadorian media, the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that occurred on Friday, October 9 at 12:56 local time in Panama is first and foremost an event that affected the national coastline. Expreso reports that the Secretary of Risk Management, Carolina Lozano, announced on X at 14:03: "Cancelada alerta de tsunami para las Costas Ecuatorianas". The Instituto Oceanográfico y Antártico de la Armada (Inocar) had previously published its bulletin No. 3 lifting the alert for the continental and insular coasts. El Comercio lists the countries affected by the American system's notice, including Chile and El Salvador, which also cancelled the alert.

The press then describes the effect on daily life. Expreso shows the Santa Elena peninsula, where the start of the long holiday weekend on October 9 took place "with normality": a tourist from Salinas assures that he "knew nothing would happen", while the authorities ask to respect the flags due to the swell. El Comercio and El Universo also follow the flights: the Tocumen airport, temporarily closed, has resumed operations, and two Copa Airlines flights to Panama landed in Guayaquil.

Regarding the damage, the headlines repeat the dispatches from EFE and AFP. Primicias mentions hotels and buildings collapsed, four people found trapped in a hotel in Tonosí and rescued by firefighters, as well as an isolated locality by road. El Comercio quotes the director of the Institute of Geosciences, Néstor Luque, who counts 107 aftershocks, and notes that the magnitude figures have evolved, from 8.0 to 7.6 and then 7.7: "conviene seguir los datos oficiales". No deaths have been confirmed in the initial reports.

The political and consular aspect occupies a clear place. Daniel Noboa wrote: "Ecuador está preparado para brindar ayuda y colaborar en las labores de atención a nuestros hermanos panameños". The Chancery has opened two assistance channels, a number at +507 and an email address, for the approximately 3,000 Ecuadorians residing in Panama according to official figures. Primicias recalls that Noboa had met with his counterpart José Raúl Mulino in Guayaquil on September 4. El Universo quotes the President of the Assembly, Mishel Mancheno, and Carolina Lozano, who says she is "attentive to the international call" of Panama.

The Panama Canal, where between 3% and 5% of global trade passes according to Primicias, is operating normally. In total, the Ecuadorian account prioritizes coastal risk management, the continuity of travel, and diplomatic solidarity over the analysis of Panamanian damage.