Panama’s government requested U.S. assistance after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck south-central Panama at 12:56 p.m. local time on Friday, Oct. 9, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. The State Department is mobilizing resources and personnel, but its statement gave no number of personnel, arrival time or details about their work.
Aid Requested by Panama
“The United States stands with the people of Panama,” Rubio wrote on X. The State Department said it was “rapidly mobilizing resources and personnel to assist” at the Panamanian government’s request. The announcement didn’t describe the assistance as a change in who directs Panama’s response. President José Raúl Mulino said the National Police were leading coordination and security on the ground.
The U.S. Embassy in Panama City said it was checking on the welfare of visitors and staff. It urged U.S. citizens to enroll in the State Department’s free Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, known as STEP. The State Department operates a 24-hour hotline for citizens abroad at +1-202-501-4444 and for callers in the United States and Canada at +1-888-407-4747.
Damage and Public Services
The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at magnitude 7.7, with an epicentre 12 kilometres west-south-west of Pitaloza Arriba and a depth of about 12.6 kilometres. The University of Panama’s Institute of Geosciences first measured it at 7.2, then revised its figure to 7.5. Strong aftershocks followed. They included a magnitude 6.6 quake at 3:25 p.m. and a magnitude 6.0 quake at 11:14 p.m. local time. Panama’s institute had counted 107 aftershocks by shortly after 6 p.m.
Panama’s Health Ministry reported 17 affected health facilities: six hospitals, eight health centres and three primary-care centres. It had no reports of deaths or people seriously hurt. At Hospital Santo Tomás, a large public hospital in Panama City, officials found structural damage on the fifth floor of the trauma area. The quake fully emptied the Oriente Chiricano hospital in San Félix, Chiriquí province.
Education Minister Ventura Vega said 188 schools nationwide were affected and classes would remain suspended until further notice. He planned to visit Coclé, Herrera and Veraguas on Saturday to assess whether pupils could return on Monday, Oct. 12. In Penonomé, part of a church tower fell and a hotel was badly damaged. Mulino visited the town and urged people to stay calm. He promised more water, food and diapers for affected areas from Saturday, Oct. 10.
Financing and Unresolved Damage
CAF, the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, donated US$250,000 for humanitarian needs and offered a natural-disaster credit line of up to US$50 million, to be channelled in coordination with Panama’s Economy Ministry. CAF executive president Sergio Díaz-Granados said: “Today we stand with the people of Panama, who have been affected by the earthquake.”
Economy Minister Felipe Chapman’s ministry contacted the Inter-American Development Bank, CAF, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and reached out to the Central American Bank for Economic Integration. Chapman gave no amounts or terms. Panama hadn’t published a final count of injured people or damaged homes, and officials had not put a price on damage. The USGS loss model estimated losses at 3% to 30% of Panama’s gross domestic product; the report said that was a computer estimate, not a damage count. Figures could change as teams reached rural areas.
Tocumen airport reopened Friday afternoon. Copa Airlines resumed flights. The Panama Canal Authority reported minor damage to four office buildings on the Pacific side, with no effect on ship transits. Panama’s civil protection agency advised people to avoid rumours and stay away from visibly damaged buildings as aftershocks continued.