Panama earthquakes

M6.0 earthquake 20 km S of Punta de Burica, Panama

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 20 km S of Punta de Burica, Panama on Wed, Aug 7, 2002, 6:59 PM EST (23:59 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

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Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 6.0 (Mwb, body-wave moment), strong
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Wed, Aug 7, 2002, 6:59 PM EST
UTC: 2002-08-07 23:59:14 UTC
Depth: 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 7.851° N, 82.895° W
Region: Panama
Strongest shaking: VI, strong shaking
Tsunami flag: No
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Magnitude estimates

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
6.0	Mwb, body-wave moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed
5.92	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1
5.9	Mwc, centroid moment	Global CMT project	Preliminary
6.3	Me, energy	Choy, USGS energy magnitude	Reviewed

What happened

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

Felt at David, Puerto Armuelles and in Baru.

From the USGS event page for usp000b9gc. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

Shaking

The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.

Strongest estimated: VI, strong shaking
Peak ground acceleration: 13.8% of gravity
Peak ground velocity: 2.3 cm/s
Map: Automatic

USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter — Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

Fault motion and ground failure

How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.

Faulting: Strike-slip
Nodal plane 1: Strike 351°, dip 63°, rake -168°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 256°, dip 79°, rake -27°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Depth from: OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Stations used: 413

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 3.0 and up: 12 in the 60 days after this one and 12 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Panama earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000b9gc (also filed as choy20020807235914, gcmtb080702e, gcmt20020807235914, atlas20020807235915, iscgem3236436). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 10:44 AM UTC.