A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck southern Panama on Friday, damaging buildings and roads, cutting power in several provinces and sending thousands of people into the streets. The country appeared to have escaped widespread destruction, and authorities had not confirmed any deaths by late in the day, although inspections were continuing and they had not ruled out injuries or trapped people. Some reports mentioned several injured.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake hit at a shallow depth of about 12.6 kilometres, with its epicentre near Pitaloza Arriba, a sparsely populated rural area close to the Pacific coast on the Azuero peninsula in Herrera province. The distance to the capital, Panama City, was reported as roughly 200 to 240 kilometres. Panama's Institute of Geosciences put the magnitude lower, at 7.2, and its director, Néstor Luque, linked the quake to the Azuero-Sona fault system. More than 40 aftershocks followed, and the USGS also recorded a second strong quake of magnitude 6.6. Shaking lasted around a minute and was felt as far away as San José in Costa Rica and the Colombian cities of Medellín and Cartagena.

Damage was reported in several provinces, including Herrera, Los Santos, Veraguas and Coclé. In Penonomé, a city in Coclé about halfway between the epicentre and the capital, the cathedral, the governor's office and a hotel were damaged, and video showed a tower and balconies collapsing. A historic church in Los Santos province was also reported to have fallen. In Herrera, 74-year-old resident Ricardo Brown said his home had cracked and he feared it would collapse. In Panama City, office workers evacuated skyscrapers, two metro lines were briefly suspended and traffic gridlock left many struggling to get home. President José Raúl Mulino said the country faced "a major disaster" and that some roads had collapsed, but also urged calm and warned against using the event to create alarm.

Critical infrastructure appeared largely unaffected. The Panama Canal, a key global shipping route, and the Cobre Panama copper mine reported normal operations, and Tocumen international airport resumed flights after a temporary suspension. Schools were closed nationwide. Civil protection chief Omar Smith warned that aftershocks would continue but weaken over time.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued alerts for coasts from Mexico to Peru, and a threat was also noted for Hawaii. Chile's navy declared a precautionary alert for Easter Island. The warnings were lifted after some hours, and Smith had considered a tsunami unlikely because the epicentre was on land.

Strong earthquakes are rare in Panama, though the country lies near the Pacific's seismically active "Ring of Fire". The USGS estimated economic losses could reach 1% to 10% of gross domestic product, and about 43,000 people lived in areas of severe exposure. Panama had been due to hold a national evacuation drill on Monday. The US said it was ready to help if needed. The quake came two months after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake killed 335 people in Colombia's Chocó department.