Sweden

Stockholm, October 10, 2026. The Swedish press is covering the Panamanian earthquake in real-time alert mode, following the revisions of the USGS and NOAA. Svenska Dagbladet has opened a continuous feed: the earthquake, initially estimated at a magnitude of 8.0, was downgraded to 7.7 by the American geological institute, at a depth of 10 kilometers, near Pitaloza Arriba. The alert arrived "strax innan klockan 20.00 svensk tid", Friday, October 9.

The tsunami aspect is taking center stage. Svenska Dagbladet details the wave heights announced by NOAA: 1 to 3 meters above sea level on the Panamanian coast, 0.3 to 1 meter in Ecuador, less than 0.3 meters for Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru. Around 22:30 Swedish time, NOAA lifted the alert. Sveriges Radio headlines a tsunami "in ten countries" before specifying that the alert has been lifted and that the Panama Canal, 200 kilometers from the epicenter, is functioning as usual, according to Reuters.

The initial reports are cautious about the human toll. Svenska Dagbladet initially writes that there is "no information" on injured people and reports a 6.6-magnitude aftershock around 22:30. Dagens Nyheter, behind its paywall, notes that the earthquake cut power in six regions and that, according to Reuters, such strong tremors are unusual in the country. Aftonbladet relies on social media videos showing buildings in Panama shaking and residents evacuated into the street.

In a second phase, the narrative shifts to the terrain and political speech. Svenska Dagbladet and Aftonbladet pick up the same dispatch: President Mulino speaks of a "stor katastrof" while calling for calm. His message on X, quoted: what happened should not be used to create concern and chaos. According to AFP, witnesses describe destroyed infrastructure and collapsed buildings; the fate of potential victims remains uncertain. In Panama, about 200 kilometers from the epicenter, Salomon Andion, evacuated from a 15-story building, describes strong and long tremors.

The treatment is that of a dispatch: little analysis, no correspondent on the ground, magnitude and wave figures repeated from agencies and American services. The articles do not specify the affected provinces or the cultural damage, and the location of the epicenter varies between "south" and "center" of the country according to the versions.