PANAMA · EARTHQUAKE RECOVERY
Key Facts
- —The country Panama, a Central American nation that uses the US dollar and runs the Panama Canal, is rebuilding after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake on Friday 9 October 2026.
- —Why it matters Thousands of families in the central provinces cannot yet return home, and a private fundraiser now adds to the state-led recovery that the United States is helping to fund.
- —Why now The civic group Club Activo 20-30 announced its special telethon on Tuesday 20 October 2026, four days before the broadcast.
- —What happened The Teletón 20-30 will run on Saturday 24 October at the Azuero Convention Center in Chitré to raise money for new homes, with the state audit office overseeing the funds.
- —The numbers Official counts list 9,124 damaged homes, 2,318 of them total losses, and 3,827 people in 55 shelters, while the telethon plans homes of about 43 square meters, reportedly at US$19,000 each.
- —What it means for you US donors should wait for the official donation channels, and travelers to Azuero should expect continued disruption in a region where thousands still lack a safe home.
- —Still open The fundraising goal, the donation channels, the building schedule and how telethon homes will fit with the 1,300 houses planned by the housing ministry.
- —Power Index Panama ranks 11th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 34.2 points (October 2026 edition).
A Panama telethon on Saturday 24 October 2026 will raise money to build homes for families who lost theirs in the 9 October earthquake, the civic group Club Activo 20-30 announced on Tuesday 20 October. The event, called the Teletón 20-30, will be held at the Azuero Convention Center in Chitré, the capital of Herrera province, and broadcast on television and online platforms from noon.
For US readers the telethon is the private side of a recovery that Washington has already joined, since US Ambassador Kevin Marino Cabrera announced a further US$1 million on Monday 19 October to hire engineers to assess damaged homes. Panama uses the US dollar in daily life, so every amount in this article is in US$.
The US Geological Survey measured the 9 October quake at magnitude 7.7, while Panama’s civil protection agency Sinaproc and several local outlets cite 7.5. This article uses the US figure and names the difference where it matters.
What the Panama Telethon Will Fund
Club Activo 20-30 says the money will go to building and rebuilding houses in Herrera, Los Santos, Coclé and Veraguas, the central provinces named in the announcement. Telethon president Giacomo Tamburelli said families with disabled members, mostly children, will come first, and the homes will be about 43 square meters (463 square feet) with accessibility features.
La Prensa reported that each house built with the Panama telethon money will cost US$19,000. The organizers have not published a fundraising goal in the coverage reviewed.
The special edition changes the telethon’s original aim, which was to raise money for four hospitals in Coclé, Veraguas, Herrera and Los Santos, Mi Diario reported. Tamburelli said the effort does not replace government housing programs and is meant to start a national action table of civic clubs, authorities, private companies and other organizations.
Who Will Oversee the Money
Comptroller General Anel Flores, who heads the state audit office known as the Contraloría, backed the event and promised that every dollar raised will be audited. La Estrella de Panamá reported that Flores said his office had reviewed the organizer’s financial statements and found them in order.
The housing ministry, known as Miviot, will assess each case house by house together with the Contraloría and without intermediaries, Flores said, as La Estrella de Panamá reported. He also warned that the emergency will not end in the next weeks, saying in Spanish that it “does not end in December.”
How Big the Housing Damage Is
A joint report by the national emergency operations center and Sinaproc, covering 9 to 19 October, counted 9,124 damaged homes where 29,952 people lived. Of those homes, 2,318 were total losses, 5,546 had moderate or partial damage and 1,260 had light damage, La Estrella reported.
Los Santos and Herrera hold 74% of the home inspections, La Estrella reported, with 4,211 and 2,552 damaged homes, according to La Prensa. La Estrella put total-loss homes at 971 in Los Santos and 743 in Herrera.
A total of 3,827 people remain in 55 shelters across seven territories, and 2,672 of them, or 69.8%, are in Veraguas, according to the same report. The count also lists 27 injured people and damage to 576 schools, 42 health facilities and 69 roads and bridges.
How the Government Plan Compares
Miviot has announced 1,300 houses at four sites, at an average tender cost of US$25,000 each plus about US$2,000 for demolition and site preparation, La Prensa reported. Our earlier report Panama Quake Rebuilding Plan Promises 1,300 Homes covers that plan.
La Prensa calculated that rebuilding the 2,318 total-loss homes at US$27,000 each would cost about US$62.6 million. At the telethon’s US$19,000 unit cost the same count would come to about US$44 million, which is our own arithmetic and not a budget.
Other private efforts are running alongside, including a campaign that places shipping-container homes as temporary shelter at about US$8,000 each, La Prensa reported. That campaign is funded by private donations and citizen contributions.
The US Role in the Recovery
Ambassador Cabrera’s US$1 million will pay a specialist firm to evaluate homes and infrastructure, Telemetro reported. Kit Miyamoto, chief executive of the structural engineering firm Miyamoto International, said the assessments will show how to repair each home and what it will cost.
Earlier the US Embassy delivered 17 heavy cargo trucks worth US$2.1 million to Panama’s border service SENAFRONT on 13 October, Telemetro reported. Our report US Gives 17 Trucks for Panama Quake Relief has the details.
What It Means for You
The organizers say donation channels for the Panama telethon will appear on the official Teletón 20-30 social media accounts, Mi Diario reported, so US donors should use only channels published there. No international payment route was named in the coverage reviewed.
Travelers planning trips to Azuero should expect continued disruption, since damage spans five provinces and thousands of people are still sheltered. Our guides Panama Geopolitics Explained 2026 and Panama and Its Neighbours in Central America set out the wider picture.
Residents and expats based in the capital can find day-to-day context in our Panama City expat city guide. For investors, the housing bill is a public and private spending line still being sized, with no budget figure fixed yet.
What Is Not Known
The organizers’ own announcement and the Comptroller’s statement could not be opened for this article, which rests on five Panamanian outlets that agree on the date, the venue and the aim. No fundraising target, donation channel or building schedule has been published in the coverage reviewed.
Outlets differ on the closing time of the Panama telethon, with La Estrella, Mi Diario and Eco TV reporting midnight and Panamá América reporting 1:00 in the morning. Tamburelli cited more than 2,700 homes in ruins, which is above the 2,318 total-loss count in the official report, and no source explains the gap.
It is not known where the first telethon homes will be built or how they will be coordinated with the 1,300 houses Miviot has planned. The US$19,000 unit cost comes from one outlet and has not been confirmed by the organizers.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the Panama telethon for earthquake victims?
It is on Saturday 24 October 2026 at the Azuero Convention Center in Chitré. Outlets give the closing time as midnight or 1:00 a.m.
What will the telethon money pay for?
It will pay to build homes for families who lost theirs on 9 October in Herrera, Los Santos, Coclé and Veraguas. Families with disabled members, mostly children, come first.
Who will audit the donations?
Comptroller General Anel Flores said the state audit office will audit every dollar raised. Miviot will assess each case house by house with the Contraloría.
How many homes did the earthquake damage?
An official report for 9 to 19 October counted 9,124 damaged homes, including 2,318 total losses. A further 3,827 people remain in shelters.
Can people in the United States donate?
The organizers say donation channels will be published on the official Teletón 20-30 social media accounts. No international payment route has been named yet.
Sources: Panamá América, 20 October 2026; La Estrella de Panamá, 20 October 2026; La Estrella de Panamá, 20 October 2026 (damage report); Mi Diario, 20 October 2026; Telemetro, 20 October 2026; Eco TV Panamá, 20 October 2026; La Prensa, 21 October 2026; Telemetro, 19 October 2026 (US$1 million); Telemetro, 13 October 2026 (trucks); US Geological Survey, M 7.7 event page.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief