July 1, 1979 Earthquake: Puerto Armuelles, Panama-Costa Rica
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Puerto Armuelles, Panama-Costa Rica on July 1, 1979 at 20:38:04 UTC, 28 km below the surface.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- July 1, 1979
- Time
- 20:38:04 UTC
- Place
- Puerto Armuelles, Panama-Costa Rica
- Magnitude
- 6.5 (Ms)
- Magnitude scales
- Ms 6.5 · mb 5.5
- Focal depth
- 28 km (17 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 8.316° N, 82.943° W
- Country
- Panama
- Region
- Central America
- USGS record
- The USGS’s page for this earthquake
Ms: surface-wave magnitude. mb: body-wave (P-wave) magnitude. NCEI’s headline magnitude is the best of these for the earthquake.
The toll
- Damage
- $2 million
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
Magnitude estimates
The magnitudes the USGS catalog lists for this earthquake, by scale and by who computed them. NCEI’s own scales are in the table above.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.5 | Ms, surface-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 6.17 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 6.2 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Damage at Puerto Armuelles, Panama. $2 million estimated damage to petroleum loading facilities in the Puerto Armuelles area. Felt strongly in southeastern Costa Rica. (reference #1053)
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #1053 National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) (1971 to 2013). Preliminary Determination of Epicenters (PDE), a weekly and monthly publication, National Earthquake Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Golden, Colorado, 1971 to 2013.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- April 22, 1991, Limon, Pandora, Panama, Costa Rica
- November 20, 2004, San Jose, Parrita, Quepos, Costa Rica
- April 3, 1983, W, SE, Panama, Costa Rica
- December 5, 1941, Costa Rica-Panama
- December 25, 2003, Puerto Armuelles, Panama-Costa Rica
- July 3, 1983, San Jose, Costa Rica
- July 10, 1993, Turrialba, Cartago, Costa Rica
- November 19, 2008, Paso Canoa, David, Puerto Armuelles, Panama
- February 4, 2004, Chiriqui, Panama-Costa Rica
- May 26, 2008, Panama-Costa Rica
- August 5, 1854, Costa Rica-Panama
- August 7, 1854, Costa Rica-Panama
- March 12, 1962, Costa Rica-Panama
- July 31, 2002, Laurel, Baru, Alanje, David, Costa Rica, Panama
- July 18, 1934, Panama-Costa Rica
More
Significant earthquakes of 1979The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1979Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 4838. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event usp00011nk, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.