Shipping through the Panama Canal remains uninterrupted after hit by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake

A strong 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck near the southern coast of Panama on Friday at a depth of 10 kilometers, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), which downgraded an earlier estimate of magnitude 8.0.

The Panama Canal Authority said later on Friday the waterway was operating normally.

No immediate damage reports came in Panama, while television footage showed people evacuating buildings.

The US Tsunami Warning System showed potential tsunami threats along much of Central America's Pacific coast, as well as in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico, within the next three hours.

The system also said there was a tsunami threat to Hawaii.

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

Following the earthquake, the Chilean Navy's Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service issued a tsunami alert.