Urgent tsunami alert after massive 7.7 earthquake topples buildings in Panama

A massive magnitude 7.7 earthquake has rocked Panama, damaging buildings and triggering an urgent tsunami threat message.

The earthquake struck southwest of Pitaloza Arriba, a village of just over 100 residents in Herrera province, with shaking reported hundreds of miles away. The US Geological Survey said the earthquake struck at 1.56pm ET at a shallow depth and that some casualties were possible. 

Reports of collapsed buildings, split roads and caved-in roofs emerged after the quake, with authorities saying damage was concentrated in central Panama.

Locals have reported people trapped in rubble, with one instance of a hotel fall on top of a car with people inside.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially warned that hazardous waves were possible along parts of the coasts of nine countries: Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico.

However, the center confirmed about three hours after the earthquake that the tsunami threat had passed. Its initial message had urged people in threatened coastal areas to stay alert and follow instructions from national and local authorities.

Strong shaking forced people to evacuate buildings in Panama City, about 122 miles from the epicenter.

The US Embassy in Panama is monitoring the aftermath of the earthquake, saying on X it was 'assessing potential damage' from the major earthquake.

Reports of collapsed buildings, split roads and caved-in roofs emerged after the quake, with authorities saying damage was concentrated in central Panama 

A massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake has rocked Panama, triggering an urgent tsunami threat message

People evacuated buildings in drove after feeling the earthquake in Panama City

Panama's President José Raúl Mulino is calling for calm in the Central American country, saying on X: 'One should not use the event to create alarm and disorder,' Mulino said in a statement posted to his official X account.

Footage from the San Miguelito Metro station in Panama City captured panic and evacuations moments after the area shook. 

Workers and visitors of a maternity ward at the Santo Tomas Hospital in Panama City also fled the building.

The evacuation forced even week-old babies outside, as residents waited for news about impacts. 

Sabina Rios, who was on the sixth floor of an ‌old US ⁠military-era building in Panama City, told Reuters the shaking was unusually strong and prolonged. 

'The quake felt strong and lasted a long time, the longest I've felt in years,' Rios said. 

Traffic snarled across Panama City as many offices released employees early, unsure of conditions or potential structural damage to buildings, and the Metro halted service.

Students in uniform poured onto the streets of downtown Panama as schools were let out early across the city. Classes were suspended nationwide.

Social media footage from Penonome, a city roughly midway between the epicenter and Panama City, showed damage to a church and nearby buildings that had collapsed.

Strong shaking forced people to evacuate buildings in Panama City, about 122 miles from the epicenter.

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.