DOMINANT ANGLE
Lisbon is tracking the aftermath of the Panamanian earthquake based on updates from the USGS and Civil Protection, noting the evacuations, damage to the central provinces, and the lifting of the tsunami alert.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
A 7.7-magnitude earthquake (revised from 7.6) struck Panama on Friday, October 9, followed a few hours later by a 6.6-magnitude aftershock, according to the USGS.
- 02
Omar Smith, from Civil Protection, reports damage in the provinces of Veraguas, Herrera, and Los Santos, with several injured and a cracked cathedral in Penonomé.
- 03
SAPO reports the closure of the international airport and power outages in six provinces; President Mulino has called for calm.
ANALYSIS
Lisbon, October 10, 2026. The Portuguese press is treating the Panamanian earthquake as a sequence of alerts, as the dispatches come in. SAPO Notícias leads with "Sismo de magnitude 7.7 abala Panamá. Há risco de tsunamis": the tremor occurred on the afternoon of Friday, October 9, at a depth of approximately 12.6 km, according to its first report, near Pitaloza Arriba, according to the American USGS. The shock was felt with intensity in the capital, some 200 kilometers from the epicenter, where hundreds of people left buildings.
The story becomes clearer with the aftershock. RTP Notícias and SAPO headline the "novo sismo de magnitude 6,6", which occurred a few hours after the first, whose magnitude was revised from 7.6 to 7.7. The two media outlets report that the epicenter is located in the central-south region, at a depth of 10 km, with massive evacuations and material damage, and no confirmed casualties at this stage. They quote the USGS: at least five secondary shocks of magnitude greater than 5, including one of 5.8 south of El Cacao. The local geosciences institute counts more than ten strong aftershocks, some close to 6, and seismologists from the University of Panama more than 45 in total.
Details of the damage come from the Civil Protection agency. Its representative, Omar Smith, cited by SAPO according to the Telemetro Reporta channel, locates the damage in the central provinces of Veraguas, Herrera, and Los Santos. He mentions several injured people, including one person hit by debris from a partially collapsed structure in Penonomé, about 150 km from the capital, as well as a partial collapse and cracks in the cathedral on the main square. The capital, known for its hundreds of skyscrapers, has reported no damage.
SAPO adds that the international airport is closed and that electricity has been temporarily cut off in six provinces. President José Raúl Mulino called for calm on social media. RTP specifies that the USGS had issued a tsunami alert in the eastern Pacific; SAPO notes that the risk was later lifted.
Observador, for its part, titles its 2-hour radio bulletin: "Registado segundo sismo de magnitude 6,6 no Panamá poucas horas após o primeiro de 7,7". The text, automatically transcribed, opens with national political news. None of the articles mention any Portuguese nationals affected, or analysis of the tectonic causes or economic consequences.
