Panama mobilizes ministries after 7.7-magnitude quake destroys structures

USGS records more than 40 aftershocks, strongest measuring 6.6

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino ordered the full government mobilized on Friday after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck southern Panama, destroying a number of structures and shaking the capital, officials and the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The earthquake struck shortly before 2 p.m. EDT, with its center about 9 miles southwest of Pitazola Arriba, according to USGS. No casualties were reported, but several people sustained minor injuries.

Photographs from the aftermath in Panama City showed several buildings partially collapsed as residents fled to the streets. Suspension cables along the Panama Canal were seen shaking, but authorities said the canal continued to operate as normal.

USGS recorded more than 40 aftershocks in the region after the main shock, with magnitudes as strong as 6.6. The U.S. Tsunami Warning System issued a warning for possible tsunami waves but later canceled the alert.

Mulino said he received offers of aid from several countries in the region after the temblor.

“I have given the instruction to mobilize personnel, resources, and aid to those affected, as well as the immediate action of all ministries and institutions in the territory in resolution and prevention,” Mulino said in a statement on X. “The entire government is mobilized to provide responses.”

Mulino urged the population to remain calm. “What happened should not be used to generate alarms and disorder,” he added.

The earthquake is the third major temblor to hit Latin America this year. In June, twin earthquakes killed more than 6,500 people in Venezuela. In August, hundreds of people were killed in Colombia after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck the country.