A magnitude 7. 7 earthquake struck southern Panama on Friday morning, centred a few miles southwest of the remote community of Pitaloza Arriba on the Pacific coast at a shallow depth of about 11 km. The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially warned of possible waves along Panama’s coast, and alerts went out for neighbouring countries including Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Guatemala, before the threat was declared over. About two and a half hours later a second quake of magnitude 6. 6 hit near Río Grande, and dozens of aftershocks followed, several above magnitude 5.
The worst damage was in the central provinces of Veraguas, Herrera and Los Santos. In Penonomé the cathedral partly collapsed and cracked, the governor’s office and a hotel were damaged, and a person was hit by falling debris. The colonial-era Church of San Atanasio in Los Santos reportedly collapsed, and large fissures opened along roads in Veraguas. President José Raúl Mulino said no deaths had been documented by Friday evening, although he cautioned that the picture could change, and civil protection officials later reported several injuries. Buildings shook in Panama City and people ran into the streets, but no damage was reported in the capital.
Schools were ordered closed, and Tocumen International Airport briefly suspended operations before reopening in the afternoon. The Panama Canal Authority said canal operations were continuing normally. Authorities were inspecting damaged buildings and bracing for further strong aftershocks.