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Powerful Earthquake Shakes Panama, Sparks Tsunami Warning

Is climate change quietly loading the faults beneath coastal cities or are quake counts steady?

3 hours ago·Updated 1 hour ago

Powerful Earthquake Shakes Panama, Sparks Tsunami Warning

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Above: A nurse speaks on her phone outside a hospital in Panama City after a quake on Oct. 9. Image credit: Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images

The Facts

A 7-plus magnitude earthquake struck southern Panama just before 1 p.m. local on Friday. The U.S. Geological Survey recorded a 7.7-magnitude quake at a depth of 12.6 kilometers (7.8 miles), while the University of Panama's geological institute reported a magnitude of 7.2 at a depth of 4 kilometers.
Bloomberg
Instituto de Geociencias de la Universidad de Panamá
The Epoch Times
US Geological Survey
While there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage in Panama City, historic buildings suffered severe damage in Penonomé, a city halfway between the epicenter and the country's capital.
Reuters
The Associated Press
Several aftershocks followed, including magnitude 5.8 and 5.5 tremors recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey near El Cacao and Bajo Corral within an hour of the main quake, and a 6.6-magnitude quake less than three hours later.
Instituto de Geociencias de la Universidad de Panamá
The New York Times
US Geological Survey
US Geological Survey
US Geological Survey
The U.S. Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami threat message after the earthquake, saying that tsunami waves reaching up to three meters above the tide levels could hit the coast of Panama. The warning also covers countries such as Colombia, Costa Rica and Ecuador.
Fox Weather
U.S. Tsunami Warning System
This was the third-strongest earthquake this year, behind two 7.8-magnitude quakes in the Philippines and Indonesia in June and August, respectively. Additionally, this is the latest powerful quake to hit Latin America this year, following quakes in Venezuela and Colombia.
CNN
Fox Weather
Panama is located near the boundary of the Cocos, Nazca, Caribbean and South American tectonic plates, along the so-called Ring of Fire arc of volcanoes and fault lines around the Pacific Ocean, but major earthquakes in the country are rare.
Reuters
The Associated Press
US Geological Survey

Sources Split

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The Spin

Climate-concerned narrative

Rising seas and fiercer storms are quietly loading faults that are already under strain, and pretending that's unrelated to burning fossil fuels is wishful thinking. Coastal cities sitting on subduction zones deserve hazard maps that account for a warming planet. Cutting emissions is an earthquake safety measure too.

GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences

Climate-skeptic narrative

Earthquake counts hold steady, so blaming a warming climate for shaking ground confuses headlines with hard data. Quakes feel more common nowadays due to better sensors and wall-to-wall news coverage. Resilient building codes and prepared communities save lives far more reliably than alarm over a shifting climate.

The Conversation