7.7 magnitude earthquake shakes Panama, prompting evacuations

PANAMA CITY — A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Panama on Friday morning, shaking buildings in the capital, prompting evacuations and sending tremors as far as neighboring Colombia. The quake was centered about 10 kilometers (6 miles) southwest of the remote community of Pitaloza Arriba, in the central province of Herrera, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It struck at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles). Visibly shaken residents of Panama City gathered outside as they waited for news of the quake’s impact on Friday. “We felt it very strongly. It knocked things over in the kitchen, but we’re okay, though we’re very scared," Rosendo Domínguez, 60, who is from Herrera province, where the earthquake struck, told The Associated Press by phone. “Everyone is outside, scared.” Aftershocks continued to shake the streets on Friday shortly after the quake. The National Weather Service issued a tsunami warning Friday for the coasts of Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Guatemala. Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino called for calm on Friday, writing on X: “What happ