Panama earthquake: 7.7 magnitude quake damages homes, schools shut, tsunami alert from Mexico to Peru

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Panama on Friday 9 October, the US Geological Survey said, damaging buildings in the centre of the country, closing schools nationwide and setting off tsunami alerts along the Pacific coast of the Americas, Reuters reported via Dawn. No deaths had been reported in that account. The Panama Canal was not affected.

Panama earthquake: the key facts

• Magnitude: 7.7 (USGS); some early reports gave 7.6.
• Depth: 12.6 km, which is shallow, so the shaking at the surface was strong.
• Epicentre: near La Pitaloza in Herrera province, a thinly populated rural area close to the Pacific coast.
• Felt: as far away as San José in Costa Rica.
• Aftershocks: a series of weaker quakes followed.

Earthquakes this strong are rare in Panama, Reuters noted.

Damage on the ground

Video from Penonomé showed the tower of a historic building collapsing and balconies falling from a residential block. Damage was also reported in Chitré, the capital of Herrera, and along the coast of Los Santos province. In Las Minas, a 74-year-old resident told Reuters his house had cracked. Omar Smith, head of Panama's civil protection agency, gave damage reports to the local channel Telemetro Reporta.

In Panama City, a hospital was evacuated, two Metro lines were briefly halted for safety checks, and the education ministry closed schools across the country. Panama had been due to hold a national earthquake drill on Monday.

Tsunami alerts

The US Tsunami Warning System said hazardous waves were possible within three hours along parts of the coasts of Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico, and flagged a possible threat to Hawaii. Chile's navy issued its own alert.

The canal and shipping

The canal, which links the Atlantic and the Pacific, kept operating normally, so there is no disruption to shipping routes or freight costs from the quake so far. No Pakistani casualties have been reported. For the run of earthquakes and storms this week, see our coverage of Hurricane Isaias in the US. Sending money to family abroad? Check today's rates with our currency converter.