Are there earthquakes in Panama?

Earthquakes do happen in Panama, but that should not be a huge concern for someone considering moving to that country. After living for over 16 years in Panama, I have experienced an earthquake only once, a little over a year ago. I woke up in the middle of the night and the 12th floor of our building, in the heart of Panama City, was shaking so much that it was hard to walk. We pondered whether to go out in the street, but resolved to stay put. The building did not suffer, as...

Earthquakes do happen in Panama, but that should not be a huge concern for someone considering moving to that country. After living for over 16 years in Panama, I have experienced an earthquake only once, a little over a year ago. I woke up in the middle of the night and the 12th floor of our building, in the heart of Panama City, was shaking so much that it was hard to walk. We pondered whether to go out in the street, but resolved to stay put. The building did not suffer, as construction codes follow American guidelines and building are designed to show flexibility.
 
Earthquakes played a historical role for this country, albeit indirectly... At the beginning of the twentieth century, when Panama was not yet a country, but a Colombian department, Teddy Roosevelt was pondering whether to build the Canal in Panama or in Nicaragua. The French were lobbying for Panama, hoping to recoup part of their ill-fated investments but Nicaragua was favored by influent senators and the debate went on and on, until Nicaragua was rocked by earthquakes following a volcano eruption. The Nicaraguans flatly denied any rumor of earthquakes, and at the time it was very difficult to verify... Someone in the opposing camp had the brilliant idea to send to each senator a letter affixed with a Nicaraguan postage stamp depicting a fuming volcano... and you probably know where the canal was eventually built! 

Yes, there are earthquakes in Panama but fortunately, none of them have caused major damage throughout Panama. There are provinces that are more likely than others to have an earthquake but earthquakes are definitely not frequent and none of them have caused big losses in human lives nor material. We are without a doubt blessed!
 

Yes, there are earthquakes in Panama but fortunately, none of them have caused major damage throughout Panama. There are provinces that are more likely than others to have an earthquake but earthquakes are definitely not frequent and none of them have caused big losses in human lives nor material. We are without a doubt blessed!
 

Yes, earthquakes do happen in Panama but they are widely unnoticed.  By that I mean that they are not very strong and most people don't even know when they happen.

 

I have been living in Panama City for 10 years now, and only twice I have felt a somewhat strong earthquake that caused no more than just a sudden wake up in the middle of the night, but never an earthquake has caused damage or wide concern in this region.

 

However,...

Yes, earthquakes do happen in Panama but they are widely unnoticed.  By that I mean that they are not very strong and most people don't even know when they happen.

 

I have been living in Panama City for 10 years now, and only twice I have felt a somewhat strong earthquake that caused no more than just a sudden wake up in the middle of the night, but never an earthquake has caused damage or wide concern in this region.

 

However, earthquakes can be felt more often in the Chiriqui / Bocas del Toro provinces, where these phenomenon are quite more regular (due to their proximity to Costa Rica, where earthquakes are more frequent).  Very rarely throughout history have earthquakes in Panama caused damage and, the same as in the capital city, sometimes happen unnoticed by the population.

Panama is known to have a considerable amount of active faults, and tremors can be common. While there is a risk of earthquakes, it is rare that they cause major destruction or casualties.

Panama is known to have a considerable amount of active faults, and tremors can be common. While there is a risk of earthquakes, it is rare that they cause major destruction or casualties.

Yes there are quakes here in Panama. They usually register 4.0-5.0 on the Richter scale. The quakes mostly occur in Chiriqui Province and outside of the Bay of Panama of Panama City. There never seems to be much damage or threat to life, interestingly enough. Thank goodness.

 

In Panama City, we had another small quake a week ago.

 

Just a note: I lived in Tokyo for 6 years and the constant quakes paralyzed everything for the...

Yes there are quakes here in Panama. They usually register 4.0-5.0 on the Richter scale. The quakes mostly occur in Chiriqui Province and outside of the Bay of Panama of Panama City. There never seems to be much damage or threat to life, interestingly enough. Thank goodness.

 

In Panama City, we had another small quake a week ago.

 

Just a note: I lived in Tokyo for 6 years and the constant quakes paralyzed everything for the duration. Have seen nothing like that in Panama.

We have earthquakes in Panama. Fortunately, the environment always protects us from ecological disasters. Once in a while, earthquakes occur but they are away from Panama City. They happen in the countryside and provinces but the city never experiences these events.

 

You don't have to be afraid of earthquakes in Panama.  In my personal experience, the times when earthquakes occurred in Panama, I didn't even notice it.  The only way I...

We have earthquakes in Panama. Fortunately, the environment always protects us from ecological disasters. Once in a while, earthquakes occur but they are away from Panama City. They happen in the countryside and provinces but the city never experiences these events.

 

You don't have to be afraid of earthquakes in Panama.  In my personal experience, the times when earthquakes occurred in Panama, I didn't even notice it.  The only way I become aware of it, is when I checked my Twitter.