In the North Pacific Ocean 282 kilometer from David, Panama, a shallow and significant MAG-5.1 earthquake occurred in the evening of Tuesday August 4th, 2026.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 181 kilometers (113 mi) off the coast of Panama, 282 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: | Aug 4, 2026 11:19PM (Panama Time) - Aug 5, 2026 04:19 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 282 km south of David, Chiriquí, Panama. Coordinates 5°53'18"N 82°28'21"W. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.1 Detected by 30 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.057 . |
| Depth: | 10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth. |
| Tsunami Risk: | Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here. |
Nearby towns and cities
This earthquake may have been felt in Panama . Pedregal in Chiriquí, Panama is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 277 kilometer (172 mi) south of Pedregal.
A complete list of nearby places is included below.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 277 km (172 mi) N from epicenter |
Pedregal Chiriquí, Panama. |
| 282 km (175 mi) N from epicenter |
David Chiriquí, Panama. |
| 293 km (182 mi) N from epicenter |
La Concepción Chiriquí, Panama. |
| 296 km (184 mi) NE from epicenter |
Santiago de Veraguas Veraguas, Panama. |
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:
- Soná, Veraguas, Panama: 1 person.
Aftershocks detected
This main shock was prefaced by 2 smaller foreshocks. Roughly 2 days before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-3.7 was detected nearby this earthquake.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreshock | M 3.7 |
2 days earlier Aug 2, 2026 08:45PM (Panama Time) | 95 km (59 mi) NW from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 3.5 |
2 days earlier Aug 3, 2026 01:17AM (Panama Time) | 95 km (59 mi) W from Main Shock. |
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.1 |
Aug 4, 2026 11:19PM (Panama Time) | - |
More earthquakes coming?
Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.
In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major earthquake.
Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).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 March 19th, 2026, when a 5.4 magnitude earthquake hit 80 km (50 mi) further south. An even stronger magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck on October 20th, 2022.
In total, 49 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.1 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 2 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
| Factor | Under Sea? | MAG-6.5 or stronger? | Shallow depth? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explanation | Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami. | Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's. |
Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor. |
| This Earthquake | This earthquake appears to have struck under the sea. | Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.1. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 10 km (6 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 05/08/26 22:48 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000ti6z
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260805_0000062
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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