Panama struck by 2 powerful earthquakes, U.S. Geological Survey says

A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck near Panama's southern tip on Friday morning, shaking buildings more than 100 miles away in the capital and prompting evacuations, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. A second powerful 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck the country later in the day following a series of aftershocks.

The initial quake was centered about 7 miles southwest of the remote community of Pitaloza Arriba and struck at a depth of about 7 miles, the USGS said. The 6.6 magnitude quake came about two and a half hours later, with its epicenter about 8 miles west of Río Grande on Panama's Pacific coast and a depth of about 6 miles.

The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center had initially warned about the possibility of tsunami waves hitting Panama's coast, but later said the threat had passed.

Tremors were felt in Panama City, where buildings shook and people evacuated into the streets. Visibly shaken residents gathered outside as they waited for news.

"We felt it very strongly. It knocked things over in the kitchen, but we're OK, 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."

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino called for calm on Friday, writing on social media: "What happened should not be used to cause alarm or disorder."

Omar Smith of the National Civil Protection Service said on the Telemetro Reporta news channel that damage was concentrated in the central provinces of Veraguas, Herrera and Los Santos. He said there were no reports of damage in the capital, which is known for its hundreds of skyscrapers.

Video aired by local news outlets showed a Catholic cathedral collapsing and part of a hotel's facade falling onto a car in the city of Penonomé, in the central province of Coclé. No casualties were immediately reported.

The quake is at least the fourth one this year in Latin America surpassing 7.0 in magnitude, after devastating earthquakes in Venezuela's Guaira in June and a powerful earthquake in western Colombia in August.

Panama lies along the "Ring of Fire," a 25,000-mile arc of volcanoes and fault lines around the Pacific Basin, where most of the world's earthquakes occur.

Panama's Civil Protection said it was investigating possible damage in regions near the epicenter.