The German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) reported a magnitude 5.3 earthquake in Panama near Santiago, Santiago District, Provincia de Veraguas, only 8 minutes ago. The earthquake struck in the early afternoon on Friday, October 9th, 2026, at 2:48 pm local time, at a shallow depth of 10. km. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the earthquake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review the data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their reports.Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should have been widely felt by almost everyone in the epicentral area. It might have caused light to moderate damage.Moderate shaking probably occurred in Sona (pop. 7,700), located 14 km from the epicenter; Rio de Jesus (pop. 1,100), 20 km away; San Francisco (pop. 1,900), 21 km away; and Montijo (pop. 1,900), 31 km away.Weak shaking might have been felt in La Mesa (pop. 2,100), located 33 km from the epicenter; Santiago (pop. 45,400), 44 km away; and Canto del Llano (pop. 7,900), 47 km away.VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update the magnitude and depth if they change and follow up if other significant news about the quake becomes available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.Earthquake data: Date & time: Oct 9, 2026 07:49 pm (Universal Time) local time (9 Oct 2026 19:49 GMT)Magnitude: 5.3Hypocenter depth: 35.00 kmEpicenter coordinates: 7.92°N / 81.17°W (Provincia de Veraguas, Panama)Primary data source: EMSC