PANAMA CITY: A strong 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck near the southern coast of Panama on Friday at a depth of 10 kilometres, according to the US Geological Survey, but no damage was initially reported and the Panama Canal Authority said the waterway was operating normally.

Panama television footage showed people evacuating buildings in panic.

The quake’s epicenter was close to the rural community of La Pitaloza in a sparsely populated area in the south of the country, close to the Pacific coastline.

The impact prompted “hazardous tsunami warnings” along parts of the coasts of Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico.

The quake was felt in the capital, Panama City, as well as in the capital of neighboring Costa Rica, according to witnesses.

Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2026