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Powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake hits Panama and triggers tsunami warnings

The Guardian Read the original

8.0 / 10 Partly supported

The score shows how well the checked facts are backed by independent sources at the time of the check. It is not a verdict of absolute truth, and not a rating of the publisher.

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11 facts found in the article, 8 checked

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Contradicted by other sources

  1. Contradicted The earthquake was centered about 14km (9 miles) south-west of the remote community of Pitaloza Arriba, near the southern tip of Panama.

    AI The results place the epicenter about 10 km (6 miles) west-southwest or southwest of Pitaloza Arriba, and ABC News says 12 km, not the 14 km (9 miles) in the claim. The location near Panama's southern tip is consistent, but the distance is a different number.

Verified facts

  1. Confirmed A 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck Panama, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

    AI Multiple results explicitly state that a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck Panama, attributing the figure to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The minor detail of the exact epicentre distance (10 km vs 14 km) varies between sources, but this does not affect the core claim.

  2. Confirmed The Institute of Geosciences of the University of Panama said a second 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck soon after the first, at 1.22pm local time.

    AI Several results state that the local geosciences institute recorded an aftershock of magnitude 6.0 after the main quake, which matches the core of the claim. The results do not mention the 1.22pm local time, so that detail could not be checked.

  3. Confirmed President José Raúl Mulino asked a key minister to call for calm and wrote on X that what happened should not be used to generate alarm and disorder.

    AI Multiple results report that Mulino urged calm in an X post saying "What happened must not be used to spread alarm and disorder." They say he asked Minister Dinoska Montalvo for a report on the earthquake's impact, not specifically that he asked her to call for calm, so that detail could not be verified as stated.

  4. Confirmed Damage from the earthquake was concentrated in the central provinces of Veraguas, Herrera and Los Santos, according to Omar Smith of Panama's National Civil Protection Service.

    AI Multiple results (OPB, Sentinel Colorado, Yahoo, DW) explicitly state that Omar Smith of the National Civil Protection Service said damage was concentrated in the central provinces of Veraguas, Herrera and Los Santos. The results do not contradict this attribution.

  5. Confirmed A person was struck by debris from a partially collapsed structure in the city of Penonomé, and the cathedral in Penonomé suffered a partial collapse and cracks.

    AI Result 2 explicitly reports that one person was struck by debris from a partially collapsed structure in Penonomé and that the cathedral in the district's main square suffered a partial collapse and cracks. Results 1 and 3 are consistent, describing a collapsed cathedral and bell tower, though they do not add detail on the individual injury.

  6. Confirmed The church of San Atanasio in Panama's Los Santos province collapsed; it had been declared a National Historic Heritage Site in 1938.

    AI Multiple results state that local outlets reported the colonial-style Church of San Atanasio in Los Santos province collapsed and that it was declared a National Historic Heritage Site in 1938. The results do not name a specific source for the collapse report, but this detail does not affect the core claim.

Could not verify

No independent source settled these either way. That doesn’t mean they are wrong.

  1. Unverified The USGS said hazardous waves were possible along the coasts of Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico, and the tsunami warning for Chile was cancelled at 4.18pm local time.

    AI The only relevant result covers a magnitude 7.7 Panama earthquake and a tsunami threat for Panama and Ecuador. It does not mention the USGS hazardous-waves warning for the listed countries or the cancellation of Chile's warning at 4:18pm, so the core of the claim is not addressed.

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