DOMINANT ANGLE
Ankara is weighing the figures of the Panamanian earthquake: a revised magnitude of 8.0 to 7.6, a tsunami alert extended to nine countries and a toll still to be established.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Bianet: the USGS initially announced a magnitude of 8.0 at a depth of 33 km, revised to 7.6 and 10 km; the University of Panama measured 7.2.
- 02
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center mentioned dangerous waves on the coasts of nine countries, from Panama to Mexico, according to Bianet.
- 03
Daily Sabah: damage concentrated in Veraguas, Herrera, and Los Santos, cathedral collapsed in Penonomé, no injuries reported immediately.
ANALYSIS
Ankara, October 10, 2026. In the Turkish press, the earthquake that struck Panama on Friday, October 9, is initially treated as a scientific event with figures changing from hour to hour. Bianet recalls that the United States Geological Survey (USGS) had initially announced a magnitude of 8.0 at a depth of 33 kilometers, before revising it to 7.6 and 10 kilometers. Daily Sabah, which relies on the Associated Press, also reports a magnitude of 7.6 and locates the epicenter about 10 kilometers southwest of the isolated town of Pitaloza Arriba, in the province of Herrera.
Bianet highlights a discrepancy between institutions: the Geosciences Institute of the University of Panama measured 7.2, then reported an aftershock of 6.0. The media indicates that the earthquake occurred at 12:56 local time (20:56 in Turkey) and was felt across a large part of the country.
The tsunami alert takes center stage. According to Bianet, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center mentioned dangerous waves on the coasts of Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico, some of which could be reached within three hours. Daily Sabah cites an alert from the American Meteorological Service for five countries.
On the ground, Daily Sabah quotes Rosendo Domínguez, a 60-year-old resident of Herrera: "We felt it very strongly," he says, mentioning overturned objects and everyone's fear. The newspaper relays images from local television showing a Catholic cathedral collapsing and the facade of a hotel falling onto a car in Penonomé, in the province of Coclé. Omar Smith, from the Civil Protection agency, reports damage in the provinces of Veraguas, Herrera, and Los Santos, with no damage reported in the capital and its skyscrapers.
Both newspapers emphasize the absence of victims in the first hours. Daily Sabah quotes President José Raúl Mulino, who calls for calm on X: what happened "should not be used to spread alarm or disorder." The newspaper places the event in the Pacific "ring of fire," an arc of 40,000 kilometers of volcanoes and faults. The issues of the canal, Tocumen airport, or the political management of the crisis do not appear in the selected texts, which focus on the seismic risk and real-time information.
