On Saturday Night a Shallow M5.6 FORESHOCK struck in the North Pacific Ocean 105km from David (Panama).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on November 9th, 2024. Last updated November 20th, 2024.

In the early morning of Saturday November 9th, 2024, a shallow and significant MAG-5.6 foreshock hit in the North Pacific Ocean 105 kilometer from David, Panama. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 1.4 million people. Another country near the epicenter is Costa Rica.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 61 kilometers (38 mi) off the coast of Panama, 105 kilometer south of David in Chiriquí. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Nov 9, 2024 05:03AM (Panama Time) - Nov 9, 2024 10:03 Universal Time.
Location:	105 km south of David, Chiriquí, Panama. Coordinates 7°28'52"N 82°25'22"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.6 Detected by 49 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.044 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	V Moderate On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 96% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 1.4 million people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 1.4 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is IV, which corresponds with light shaking and likely no damage. Roughly 403,300 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 1 million). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected.

People in 2 countries have been exposed to shaking. Roughly 1.1 million people were exposed to shaking in Panama , with level IV (light shaking, likely no damage) as the highest recorded. In Costa Rica , around 280 thousand people.

Nearby towns and cities

Panama and Costa Rica are both located within 300km distance of the epicenter of the earthquake.

Located 100 kilometer (62 mi) south of the epicenter of this earthquake, Pedregal (Chiriquí, Panama) is the nearest significant population center. The intensity of shaking and damage in Pedregal is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The maximum intensity (MMI Scale) caused by this earthquake is IV. The map below shows in which areas this earthquake was the most and least impactful. It is based on data from the US Geographic Survey.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Shaking reported by 1 person

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 1 person has reported shaking in one place in Panama.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Boquete, Chiriquí, Panama: 1 person.

This is likely a foreshock

This earthquake was followed by a stronger MAG-5.8 earthquake, classifying this earthquake as a foreshock.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since August 26th, 2024, when a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit 17 km (11 mi) further east. An even stronger magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck on October 20th, 2022.

In total, 20 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.6 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 6 months.

Low tsunami risk

Based on early data it appears this earthquake was not strong enough (lower than MAG-6.5) to be likely to cause destructive tsunami's. However this earthquake appeared to have hit at a shallow depth under sea, so stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Sources

Last updated 20/11/24 11:08 (). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000nqv1
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20241109_0000104
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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