M7.7 earthquake 55 km SW of La Arena, Herrera Province, Panama
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck 55 km SW of La Arena, Herrera Province, Panama at 12:56 local time (17:56 UTC) on 9 Oct 2026, at a depth of 13 km, according to USGS and JMA.
Reported by 2 agencies · revised from M8.0 · 17 reports to USGS “Did You Feel It?”
Data: USGS, JMA · updated 2026-10-09 18:50 UTC · reviewed
- Magnitude
- 7.7major
moment magnitude (W phase) (mww)
revised from 8.0 - Depth
- 12.6 km
- Status
- Reviewed
- Origin time
- 2026-10-09 17:56:06 UTC
- Local: 9 Oct 2026, 12:56:06 (America/Panama)
- Epicentre
- 7.587° N, 80.769° W
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Circles show this event and others within 300 km from 7 days before to 30 days after. Lines: plate boundaries and GEM active faults. Open on the live map
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Est. shaking |
|---|---|---|
| La ArenaHerrera Province, Panama · pop. 7,175 | 55 km | VIIVery strong |
| Los SantosLos Santos Province, Panama · pop. 5,970 | 55 km | VIIVery strong |
| Santiago de VeraguasVeraguas Province, Panama · pop. 45,355 | 62 km | VIIVery strong |
| Panama CityPanamá, Panama · pop. 408,168 | 208 km | VIStrong |
| San MiguelitoPanamá, Panama · pop. 321,501 | 217 km | VIStrong |
Shaking is an estimate from the intensity prediction equation of Allen, Wald & Worden (2012), not an observation. Local ground and buildings can change it by a level or more. Likely felt out to about 2347 km.
Every agency's solution
Agencies locate earthquakes with their own stations and methods, so their numbers differ. We match reports of the same event by time, distance and magnitude and show them side by side. The headline uses USGS, which has been reviewed by an analyst.
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How big was it?
Can cause serious damage over large areas. Roughly 15 such earthquakes occur worldwide each year.
It released roughly the energy of 5.4 Mt of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step means about 32 times more energy and 10 times larger waves on a seismogram. Depth matters too: at 13 km this was a shallow earthquake, which is felt more strongly at the surface than a deeper one of the same size.
M7.7 releases about 32× the energy of M6.7, and its waves are about 10× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 5.4 Mt of TNT vs 169 kt of TNT.
Each square is the energy of one M6.7. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.
Aftershocks and nearby activity
6 later earthquakes within 300 km; the largest was M5.8 59 min ago. 1 in the 7 days before. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.
Mainshock M7.7
6 later earthquakes nearby. Aftershock rates typically fall off roughly as 1/time (Omori's law).
| Time after mainshock (hours) | Magnitude | Depth (km) |
|---|---|---|
| 0.44 | 5.5 | 10 |
| 0.69 | 5.8 | 10 |
| 0.85 | 5.0 | 10 |
| 0.90 | 5.0 | 10 |
| 1.15 | 5.0 | 10 |
| 1.35 | 4.8 | 26 |
- 5.839 km SSW of Las Tablas, Los Santos Province, Panama10-09 18:37
- 5.520 km S of Las Tablas, Los Santos Province, Panama10-09 18:22
- 5.054 km SSE of Soná, Veraguas Province, Panama10-09 18:47
- 5.050 km SSE of Las Tablas, Los Santos Province, Panama10-09 18:50
- 5.044 km S of Soná, Veraguas Province, Panama10-09 19:04
- 4.854 km SE of Soná, Veraguas Province, Panama10-09 19:17
Did you feel it?
Reports from people help show where shaking was strong. They are anonymous and shown here in aggregate.
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Event id pt26282000. First recorded here 9 Oct 2026, 18:03:04 UTC. Solutions: USGS (usgs:us6000u18k); JMA (jma:20261010025608). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M7.7 earthquake 55 km SW of La Arena, Herrera Province, Panama”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/pt26282000-m7-7-earthquake-55-km-sw-of-la-arena-herrera-province-panama, data from USGS, JMA.
JSON: /api/v1/events/pt26282000. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.