Woman Dies of Injuries Sustained Fleeing Panama's Earthquake
The magnitude-7.7 earthquake that struck Panama on Oct. 9, 2026, was centered 12 kilometers west-southwest of Pitaloza Arriba, at a depth of about 12.6 kilometers, at 12:56 p.m. local time, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said. La Prensa (Panama) reported that Regina Miranda, 60, has died in a Panama hospital after she was critically injured evacuating a school during the quake, becoming the second confirmed death linked to it. Panama's Ministry of Health (MINSA) confirmed her death on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, the outlet said.
Panama had already confirmed one earlier death from the quake: Elena Barria, 68, died Oct. 15, 2026, in the quake's first confirmed fatality.
Miranda worked in the administrative office at the Romulo Arrocha school in Santiago de Veraguas, in Veraguas province, La Prensa said. She tripped over a drainage ditch and struck her head while evacuating the building as the quake hit, suffering a severe traumatic brain injury. She was hospitalized in a coma and died at the Luis "Chicho" Fabrega Hospital, in Santiago de Veraguas.
El Colombiano, a Colombian newspaper, reported that the earthquake's official death toll, per the authorities' tally, now stands at two, with more than 13,000 people registered as affected and fewer than 30 injured. It named Miranda as the second fatal victim of the quake.
