A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Panama, damaging buildings and prompting an urgent tsunami warning for parts of the region.
The quake occurred southwest of Pitaloza Arriba, a small Herrera province community with slightly more than 100 residents. Tremors were felt hundreds of miles away. The US Geological Survey said the earthquake hit at 1:56 p.m. ET at a shallow depth and warned that casualties were possible.
In the aftermath, reports described collapsed structures, cracked roads and roofs that had caved in. Authorities said the most significant damage appeared to be concentrated in central Panama.
Residents also reported people trapped beneath debris, including an incident in which part of a hotel reportedly collapsed onto a car occupied by several people.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially said dangerous waves could affect coastal areas in nine countries: Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico.
Roughly three hours later, the center said the tsunami threat had ended. Its first alert had urged residents in vulnerable coastal communities to remain vigilant and follow directions from national and local officials.
The violent shaking sent people rushing out of buildings in Panama City, located about 122 miles from the earthquake’s epicenter.
The US Embassy in Panama said it was following developments and assessing possible damage from the major earthquake in a post on X.
Collapsed buildings, fractured roads and caved-in roofs were reported after the earthquake, with officials saying central Panama suffered the most damage.
A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Panama, prompting an urgent tsunami warning across parts of the region.
Crowds evacuated buildings in Panama City after feeling the strong earthquake.
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino urged people to remain calm. “One should not use the event to create alarm and disorder,” he said in a statement shared on his official X account.
Video recorded at the San Miguelito Metro station in Panama City showed frightened passengers evacuating moments after the ground began to shake.
Staff, patients and visitors also fled the maternity ward at Santo Tomas Hospital in the capital.
The evacuation brought even babies only a week old outside as families and residents waited for information about the earthquake’s impact.
Sabina Rios, who was on the sixth floor of an old former US military building in Panama City, told Reuters that the tremor was both unusually powerful and prolonged.
“The quake felt strong and lasted a long time, the longest I’ve felt in years,” Rios said.
Traffic quickly became congested across Panama City after many businesses sent employees home early amid concerns about building safety and possible structural damage. Metro services were also suspended.
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Students in school uniforms filled downtown streets after classes were dismissed early. Schools across Panama suspended lessons nationwide.
Social media video from Penonomé, located approximately halfway between the epicenter and Panama City, appeared to show a damaged church and collapsed buildings nearby.
The Panama Canal Authority also reported that the country’s waterway is operating normally.
The quake’s epicenter was close to the rural community of La Pitaloza in a sparsely populated area of Herrera, near the Pacific coastline.
Rosendo Domínguez, 60, who is from Herrera province, told The Associated Press: ‘We felt it very strongly. It knocked things over in the kitchen, but we’re OK, though we’re very scared. Everyone is outside, scared.’
Shaking was also felt as far as San Jose, the capital of neighboring Costa Rica, according to a Reuters witness.
In Penonomé, a city about halfway between the epicenter and Panama City, social media videos showed a damaged church and nearby buildings that collapsed.
Several people were reported injured, Omar Smith of the National Civil Protection Service said, including one struck by debris from a structure that partially collapsed in Penonomé.
The cathedral in the district’s main square and the Dos Continentes hotel also sustained damage, including a partial collapse and cracks, he confirmed. No deaths were immediately reported.
Coclé’s provincial government said the governor’s palace suffered substantial structural damage, but employees were safely evacuated. Officials urged residents to remain calm following the earthquake.
Above is a car damaged by falling debris after an earthquake struck near the southern coast of Panama, in Panama City
A maternity ward in Panama City was forced to evacuate, forcing week-old babies outside
Above is an aerial view of people leaving the hostpital after the earthquake hit
Around 45 minutes later, a magnitude 5.5 earthquake hit in Bajo Corral, which is located 28 miles east of Pitaloza Arriba.
The USGS then recorded a third quake, measuring magnitude 5.8, near El Cacao. The village lies about 18 miles southwest of the first quake’s epicenter.
At least seven more aftershocks have struck since the initial quake.
A USGS map shows the strongest shaking from the 7.7-magnitude earthquake was reported near the epicenter on the Azuero Peninsula, with powerful tremors around Ocú and Las Tablas.
Shaking was also reported in Santiago and farther west in David, Boquete and Changuinola. Lighter tremors reached Panama City.
