A powerful 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck Panama and triggered tsunami warnings along the west coast of Central and South America, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
The earthquake struck the country’s southern coast, the USGS said. It was centered near the southern tip of the Central American country, about 9 miles southwest of the isolated community of Pitaloza Arriba, the USGS said.
The University of Panama’s Institute of Geosciences said the quake struck shortly before 1 p.m. local time near the southern town of Tonosí. The Panamanian institute said a second earthquake of magnitude 6.0 occurred shortly after, at 1:22 p.m.
Around 1:30 p.m., there were 13 aftershocks.
President José Raúl Mulino said he had asked a key minister to appeal for calm. “What happened should not be used to generate alarm and disorder,” Mulino wrote on X.
Local newspaper La Prensa said that across the Central American country, buildings, schools and homes were evacuated due to the “powerful movement of the earth.”
Images published by La Prensa show serious damage to several buildings in the town of Penonomé, including the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Cathedral. Other photos showed a highway west of the capital that had been completely cut in two by the earthquake.
Tremors were strongly felt in the capital Panama City, according to witnesses interviewed by Reuters. The Associated Press reported that buildings were shaken and residents gathered outside as they waited for news of the earthquake’s impact.
The USGS said dangerous waves were possible along the coasts of Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico, although the tsunami warning for Chile was canceled at 4:18 p.m. local time.
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