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Powerful Earthquake Shakes Panama, Sparks Tsunami Warning

Is climate change quietly loading the faults beneath coastal cities or are quake counts steady?
Powerful Earthquake Shakes Panama, Sparks Tsunami Warning
Above: A nurse speaks on her phone outside a hospital in Panama City after a quake on Oct. 9. Image credit: Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images

The Spin


Climate-concerned narrative

Rising seas and fiercer storms are quietly loading faults that are already under strain, and pretending that's unrelated to burning fossil fuels is wishful thinking. Coastal cities sitting on subduction zones deserve hazard maps that account for a warming planet. Cutting emissions is an earthquake safety measure too.

Climate-skeptic narrative

Earthquake counts hold steady, so blaming a warming climate for shaking ground confuses headlines with hard data. Quakes feel more common nowadays due to better sensors and wall-to-wall news coverage. Resilient building codes and prepared communities save lives far more reliably than alarm over a shifting climate.


Metaculus Prediction


The Controversies



Go Deeper

© 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 7.4.1

© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.

All rights reserved.

Version 7.4.1