Earthquakes in Panama

Panama appears infrequently in the record, with just 3 events in the past 30 days, and 9 of the events on record reached magnitude 5 or above — the level at which damage becomes a genuine concern for vulnerable construction. Panama sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, the belt of subduction zones responsible for roughly 90% of the world's earthquakes.

40 earthquakes have been recorded in Panama in our catalogue, 3 of them in the past 30 days.

The average magnitude is 4.8 and the average focal depth 16 km. 39 events reached magnitude 4 or above and 9 reached magnitude 5 or above.

The strongest earthquake recorded in Panama in this period was a magnitude 6.6 event near Burica, Panama on 14 July 2025, at a depth of 18 km. A magnitude 6.6 earthquake radiates roughly 119,787 tons of TNT equivalent in seismic energy.

Locations recording the most events include Burica (17), Limones (2), Arenas (2), Río Grande (2), Boca Chica (2).

98% of events here are shallow (under 70 km), 2% intermediate (70–300 km) and 0% deep-focus (over 300 km). Almost everything here is crustal. That is characteristic of transform faulting or continental deformation rather than subduction — and it means shaking at the surface is strong for the magnitudes involved.

The deepest event on record here was a magnitude 4.3 earthquake at 83 km beneath San Ignacio de Tupile, Panama on 05 March 2025.

By band, the catalogue holds 1 in the magnitude 3 range, 30 in the magnitude 4 range, 5 in the magnitude 5 range, 4 in the magnitude 6 range.

The busiest single day was 14 July 2025, with 3 recorded events.

3 of these events carry a USGS link to NOAA tsunami information. That link flag does not mean a tsunami occurred or that a warning was issued.