M4.9 earthquake 38 km SW of Soná, Veraguas Province, Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 38 km SW of Soná, Veraguas Province, Panama at 18:36 local time (23:36 UTC) on 12 Oct 2026, at a depth of 10 km, according to USGS and GFZ.
Reported by 2 agencies · revised from M4.8 · 5 reports to USGS “Did You Feel It?”
Data: USGS, GFZ · updated 2026-10-22 01:06 UTC · reviewed
- Magnitude
- 4.9light
body-wave magnitude (mb)
revised from 4.8 - Depth
- 10 km
- Status
- Reviewed
- Origin time
- 2026-10-12 23:36:46 UTC
- Local: 12 Oct 2026, 18:36:46 (America/Panama)
- Epicentre
- 7.726° N, 81.515° W
Circles show this event and others within 36 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 |
|---|---|---|
| SonáVeraguas Province, Panama · pop. 7,669 | 38 km | IVLight |
| Santiago de VeraguasVeraguas Province, Panama · pop. 45,355 | 72 km | IIIWeak |
| DavidChiriquí Province, Panama · pop. 82,907 | 128 km | IIWeak |
| Panama CityPanamá, Panama · pop. 408,168 | 261 km | INot felt |
| San MiguelitoPanamá, Panama · pop. 321,501 | 269 km | INot felt |
| San JoséCosta Rica · pop. 335,007 | 373 km | INot felt |
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 114 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.
How big was it?
Widely felt near the epicentre: rattling windows and objects. Significant damage is unlikely.
It released roughly the energy of 338 t 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 10 km this was a shallow earthquake, which is felt more strongly at the surface than a deeper one of the same size.
M4.9 releases about 32× the energy of M3.9, and its waves are about 10× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 338 t of TNT vs 11 t of TNT.
Each square is the energy of one M3.9. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.
Aftershocks and nearby activity
7 later earthquakes within 36 km; the largest was M4.7 8 days ago. 24 in the 7 days before. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.
Mainshock M4.9
7 later earthquakes nearby. Aftershock rates typically fall off roughly as 1/time (Omori's law).
| Time after mainshock (hours) | Magnitude | Depth (km) |
|---|---|---|
| 0.14 | 4.5 | 10 |
| 0.42 | 4.6 | 10 |
| 5.62 | 4.5 | 10 |
| 7.04 | 4.7 | 10 |
| 13.25 | 4.5 | 10 |
| 77.76 | 4.4 | 10 |
| 136.60 | 4.5 | 10 |
- 4.731 km SSW of Soná, Veraguas Province, Panama10-13 06:39
- 4.633 km SW of Soná, Veraguas Province, Panama10-13 00:02
- 4.539 km SW of Soná, Veraguas Province, Panama10-12 23:45
- 4.547 km SW of Soná, Veraguas Province, Panama10-13 05:14
- 4.540 km SW of Soná, Veraguas Province, Panama10-13 12:51
- 4.532 km S of Soná, Veraguas Province, Panama10-18 16:12
- 4.433 km SSE of Soná, Veraguas Province, Panama10-16 05:22
Did you feel it?
Reports from people help show where shaking was strong. They are anonymous and shown here in aggregate.
Event id us6000u1ww. First recorded here 12 Oct 2026, 23:50:49 UTC. Solutions: USGS (usgs:us6000u1ww); GFZ (geofon:gfz2026uarp). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M4.9 earthquake 38 km SW of Soná, Veraguas Province, Panama”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/us6000u1ww-m4-9-earthquake-38-km-sw-of-sona-veraguas-province-panama, data from USGS, GFZ.
JSON: /api/v1/events/us6000u1ww. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.