7.7 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Panama, Tsunami Warning Lifted

The quake's strength was first measured at magnitude 8, before being adjusted.

AFP

A magnitude-7.7 earthquake jolted Panama on Friday, setting off panic in the capital city and warnings of dangerous tsunami waves.

USGS said the quake was detected at 1756 GMT with an epicentre 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) from the small town of Pitaloza Arriba in the south-central part of Panama. It initially measured at magnitude 8.

The quake was registered at a shallow depth of 12 kilometres, meaning its impact was likely to be more severe.

Many people were evacuated from buildings in Panama City, about 200 kilometres away, AFP witnessed.

Tsunami waves could hit coastlines in the eastern Pacific stretching from Mexico to Peru, the US Tsunami Warning System said.

"Hazardous tsunami waves from this earthquake are possible within the next three hours" in that area, the monitor said, warning that people could be swept out to sea or crushed by debris in the water.

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