Strong earthquake strikes Panama, damaging buildings across multiple regions

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck south-central Panama on Friday afternoon, affecting approximately 4.6 million people with moderate to severe tremors. The quake hit just before 15:00 local time with its epicentre about 10km from Pitaloza Arriba, and whilst no casualties have yet been reported, the extent of damage is still being assessed. President José Raúl Mulino stated that his government was mobilising in response, as several significant aftershocks have continued to shake the region.

Verified footage shows substantial damage including a collapsed cathedral spire in Penonomé and an almost completely destroyed hotel, with buildings collapsing in multiple towns. The tremor's shallow 12km depth made it particularly damaging at surface level, prompting evacuations from buildings across Panama City, about 200km away, including a maternity ward. Initial tsunami warnings for 11 neighbouring countries were subsequently cancelled, the Panama Canal remained unaffected, and the earthquake coincidentally occurred just three days before Panama's scheduled national evacuation drill for major seismic events.