Panama’s October 9 earthquake highlighted why building standards matter—and how thoughtful construction can help protect lives.
On Friday, October 9, 2026, at 12:56 p.m., Panama moved, and it took capitalinos by surprise. The Instituto de Geociencias at the Universidad de Panamá measured the earthquake at magnitude 7.5; the U.S. Geological Survey, at 7.7. Its epicenter was near Tonosí, on the Azuero Peninsula, about 208 km from Panama City. It was the strongest earthquake in Panama in 144 years. The shaking was felt across most of the country, and the next day the government declared a national state of emergency to support the families affected in the interior.
Brad, a disaster researcher, explains in the short video below why an earthquake of this size did not turn into a disaster in the capital. He points to two reasons. First, the strongest shaking hit southern Panama, where far fewer people live. Second, the buildings. Panama’s earthquake building codes apply across the country and were updated in 2004, 2014 and 2021.
His central point is one engineers repeat often: it isn’t the shaking that kills in an earthquake. It’s collapsing buildings and falling facades. Get the buildings right, prevent collapse, and you save lives. That is why, as he puts it, earthquakes are something that can be managed. They don’t have to end in disaster.
WATCH FULL VIDEO HERE:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DehDO24tZJj/?srtk=NHRwNnBlcDRia2Np
For the official figures, read the reports from the institutions that tracked the earthquake: the PAHO/WHO Situation Report, which compiles data from the Instituto de Geociencias and SINAPROC, Panama’s civil protection agency.
At Conservatorio, we have spent twenty years building and restoring Panama City’s historic district. Gran Central is being designed and built under the Reglamento Estructural Panameño, the same mandatory code the capital’s buildings were designed under, and our team is focused on making every building as solid and well built as it can be.
The best way to understand Gran Central is to walk it. Come see the project, explore the neighborhood and meet the people building it.