Earth Changes · Daily Report · October 13, 2026, 6:30 AM CDT
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck 12 km WSW of Pitaloza Arriba, Panama at 5:56 p.m. UTC on Oct. 9, about 13 km (≈8 miles) below the surface, the U.S. Geological Survey reports[1]. The USGS PAGER system rates the expected impact ORANGE. It is the strongest earthquake tracked by the USGS this week, with active aftershocks continuing across the region.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Simon is churning in the eastern Pacific with top winds near 90 mph and a central pressure of 977 millibars, moving northwest at 3 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.[2]
Elsewhere, GDACS, the UN-backed global disaster alert system, issued an Orange alert: Volcanic eruption is on going for Kanlaon in Philippines.[3]
Today at a Glance
- 23 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or greater, the largest M6.7
- 1 active tropical system: Hurricane Simon
- 27 severe or extreme U.S. weather alerts
- 4 U.S. volcanoes above normal, including Great Sitkin, Kilauea
- 3 sinkhole reports in the news
Could not be reached for this edition: Smithsonian weekly volcano report, USGS sinkhole explainer.
Where It’s Happening
Numbered pins match the list under the map. Storm and quake pins are the agencies' reported centers; sinkhole pins mark the town named in the report. Map data: OpenStreetMap contributors.
1. Extreme Weather
Tropical storms and hurricanes
- Hurricane Simon (eastern Pacific): top winds near 90 mph, moving northwest at 3 mph. Latest advisory.[2]
Across the United States, the National Weather Service has 27 alerts rated severe or extreme in effect.[4]
| Alert | Number | States |
|---|---|---|
| Flood Warning | 10 | AZ, FL, GA, LA, SC |
| Freeze Warning | 10 | CA, ID, NV, OR, WA |
| Flood Watch | 4 | KS, MO |
| Freeze Watch | 2 | CO, NM |
| Heavy Freezing Spray Warning | 1 | PK |
The Storm Prediction Center says its highest risk level for severe thunderstorms today is slight, on a scale that runs marginal, slight, enhanced, moderate, high.[5]
Around the world, GDACS, the global disaster alert system run by the United Nations and the European Commission, lists these Orange or Red alerts from the past two days:
- Orange: Volcanic eruption is on going for Kanlaon in Philippines[3]
Video: AccuWeather, October 13, 2026 — “Hurricane Simon Eye Path: Where It Hits Mexico Next”. Matched to this report by the storm, volcano or place name in its title.
2. Earthquakes
The USGS recorded 23 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or greater in the past 24 hours.[6] The strongest:
| Mag. | Where | When | Depth | PAGER |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.7 | central Mid-Atlantic Ridge | Oct. 13, 5:44 a.m. UTC | 10 km | GREEN |
| 6.1 | 17 km W of Río Grande, Panama | Oct. 12, 11:20 p.m. UTC | 11 km | GREEN |
| 5.3 | southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge | Oct. 13, 8:38 a.m. UTC | 10 km | — |
| 5.1 | 119 km SSW of Gambiran Satu, Indonesia | Oct. 13, 4:00 a.m. UTC | 10 km | — |
| 4.9 | 17 km W of Río Grande, Panama | Oct. 12, 11:36 p.m. UTC | 10 km | — |
| 4.9 | 283 km SSW of Severo-Kuril’sk, Russia | Oct. 12, 3:44 p.m. UTC | 35 km | — |
| 4.8 | 25 km W of Río Grande, Panama | Oct. 12, 8:05 p.m. UTC | 10 km | — |
| 4.8 | 23 km SW of San Antonio, Chile | Oct. 12, 6:17 p.m. UTC | 34 km | — |
PAGER is the USGS estimate of likely deaths and damage: GREEN means little or none expected, RED means extensive. A dash means none was issued.
Earlier this week: The USGS is also continuing to monitor ongoing aftershocks and impacts from significant earthquakes recorded over the past seven days:[7]
| Mag. | Where | When | Depth | PAGER |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.7 | 12 km WSW of Pitaloza Arriba, Panama | Oct. 9, 5:56 p.m. UTC | 13 km | ORANGE |
| 6.6 | 14 km W of Río Grande, Panama | Oct. 9, 8:25 p.m. UTC | 10 km | YELLOW |
| 6.0 | 7 km N of La Tronosa, Panama | Oct. 10, 4:14 a.m. UTC | 10 km | YELLOW |
| 5.8 | 1 km S of El Cacao, Panama | Oct. 9, 6:37 p.m. UTC | 10 km | YELLOW |
3. Volcanoes
In the United States, 4 volcanoes are above normal background activity, according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s observatories:
| Volcano | Alert / aviation code | Latest word from scientists |
|---|---|---|
| Great Sitkin | Watch / Orange | Slow eruption of lava within the summit crater continues.[8] |
| Kilauea | Watch / Orange | Glow and minor spattering were observed from north vent and opening near its base, and other vents overnight. Kīlauea's summit remains at a high level of pressurization with changes in eruptive activity or location within the summit region possible.[9] |
| Ahyi Seamount | Advisory / Yellow | No plumes seen in satellite images; no significant geophysical signals.[10] |
| Shishaldin | Advisory / Yellow | Low-level unrest continues.[8] |
Alert levels run Normal, Advisory, Watch, Warning. Aviation codes run Green, Yellow, Orange, Red.
4. Sinkholes
No government agency publishes a live national sinkhole feed, so these come from today’s local news:
- WIBW reports, “Crews replace pipe after sinkhole opens along Flush Road POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY, Kan. (WIBW) – Heavy rain is behind work on a major road in Pottawatomie County.”[11]
- The Times of India reports, “Hollywood star Nicolas Cageâs $10.5 million Malibu mansion has been hit by a dramatic sinkhole after part of the propertyâs driveway collapsed, with the damage coming amid heavy rain, high surf and suspected coastal erosion along Southern Californiaâs coastline.”[12]
- The Times of India reports, “- News – City News – bengaluru News – Garbage trucks create sinkhole on Bengaluruâs Church Street Trending Bengaluru: That Church Street is built for leisurely strolls, café-hopping and soaking in the cityâs street life, and not for heavy garbage trucks rumbling through its cobblestone stretch became clear Monday.”[13]
Also in the News
Other natural-hazard video from the past day, from news organizations:
Video: NBC News, October 13, 2026 — “Flooding on river in Nepal sweeps away hydropower plant”. Also in the news. Picked because its title names a natural hazard; it may not be covered in the data above.
Video: AccuWeather, October 13, 2026 — “This Volcano Is Throwing Lightning Into the Sky”. Also in the news.
5. What the Experts Say
These are the words of the scientists and forecasters who watch these hazards for a living, quoted exactly.
“Simon remains a very small hurricane. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data from around 01 UTC showed its compact wind field, with a 5-n-mi radius of maximum wind and tropical-storm-force winds that extended only 30-40 n mi from the center. Satellite images reveal Simon has maintained a small central dense overcast tonight, with a sharper edge to the cloud tops on the northeastern side, perhaps the result of some vertical wind shear. Given the small size of Simon, it is possible that conventional satellite estimates are struggling to represent its true intensity. The initial intensity is set at 80 kt, which lies in between the latest Dvorak CI number from TAFB (4.5/77 kt) and the earlier SAR data.”
— Forecaster Reinhart, National Hurricane Center, on Hurricane Simon[14]
“Widely scattered severe storms capable of large hail, damaging winds, and possibly a tornado are expected over portions of the central and southern Plains into the Lower Missouri Valley this afternoon into tonight. More isolated severe weather may occur from southwest Texas into the mid Mississippi Valley, and in parts of New York.”
— NOAA Storm Prediction Center[5]
“Lava continues to erupt slowly within the summit crater of Great Sitkin Volcano. No significant seismicity was detected in the past day. No activity was observed in cloudy webcam and satellite images over the past day.”
— Alaska Volcano Observatory, on Great Sitkin[8]
“Overnight, moderate to strong glow was observed overnight from the north vent, the opening near its base, and south vent, while glow from the west vent fluctuated, with visibility potentially affected by fog. Intermittent flames and minor spattering associated with gas jetting occurred at all vents, including a short duration of sustained spattering at the south vent beginning around 3:18 a.m. HST.”
— Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, on Kilauea[9]
How to Prepare
- Keep a basic kit: water (one gallon per person per day for several days), food, a battery or hand-crank radio, a whistle, a dust mask and phone chargers.[15]
- Get alerts: Wireless Emergency Alerts need no sign-up; the FEMA app, NOAA Weather Radio, the USGS Earthquake Notification Service and the USGS Volcano Notification Service are free.
- Floods: Turn Around, Don’t Drown. Six inches of moving water can knock you down, and one foot can sweep a car away.[16]
- Earthquakes: Drop, Cover and Hold On.[17]
- Download the checklist: Be Ready: Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Extreme Weather and Sinkholes (PDF), with today’s active hazards first.
How to Verify This Yourself
- Earthquakes: USGS Latest Earthquakes map
- U.S. volcanoes: USGS Volcano Hazards Program; world: Smithsonian weekly report
- Weather alerts: weather.gov; tropics: nhc.noaa.gov
- Worldwide disasters: gdacs.org
References
- USGS, M7.7 12 km WSW of Pitaloza Arriba, Panama event page earthquake.usgs.gov. ↩
- National Hurricane Center, active storms data nhc.noaa.gov. ↩
- GDACS event page gdacs.org. ↩
- National Weather Service, active alerts API api.weather.gov. ↩
- NOAA Storm Prediction Center, Day 1 Convective Outlook spc.noaa.gov. ↩
- USGS, M4.5+ earthquakes, past day (real-time feed) earthquake.usgs.gov. ↩
- USGS, Significant earthquakes past week (real-time feed) earthquake.usgs.gov. ↩
- Alaska Volcano Observatory, Great Sitkin notice volcanoes.usgs.gov. ↩
- Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, Kilauea notice volcanoes.usgs.gov. ↩
- Northern Mariana Islands, Ahyi Seamount notice volcanoes.usgs.gov. ↩
- WIBW, Crews replace pipe after sinkhole opens along Flush Road wibw.com. ↩
- The Times of India, Nicolas Cage’s $10.5 million Malibu mansion hit by massive sinkhole as driveway collapses amid coastal er timesofindia.indiatimes.com. ↩
- The Times of India, Garbage trucks create sinkhole on Bengaluru’s Church Street timesofindia.indiatimes.com. ↩
- National Hurricane Center, Simon forecast discussion nhc.noaa.gov. ↩
- Ready.gov (FEMA), Build a Kit ready.gov. ↩
- Ready.gov (FEMA), Floods ready.gov. ↩
- Ready.gov (FEMA), Earthquakes ready.gov. ↩
Methodology: this report is assembled automatically each morning from the live data feeds of the USGS, the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program, the National Weather Service, the National Hurricane Center, the Storm Prediction Center and GDACS, plus same-day news reports for sinkholes. No AI writes it: the sentences are fixed templates filled with that data, and every quote is copied exactly from the source it is credited to. Data can change after publication; follow the links for the latest.
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