Powerful earthquake rocks Panama

A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake shook Panama on Friday morning, collapsing buildings near its epicentre and prompting evacuations across the country. The quake, which was felt as far away as neighbouring Colombia, was centred about 10 kilometres southwest of the remote community of Pitaloza Arriba, in the central province of Herrera, the US Geological Survey said. It struck at a depth of 10 kilometres. The USGS initially reported the quake as magnitude 8, then revised it to 7.6 and later to 7.7. Visibly shaken residents of Panama City gathered outside as they waited for news of the quake’s impact on Friday. “We felt it very strongly. It knocked things over in the kitchen, but we’re okay, though we’re very scared," Rosendo Domínguez, 60, who is from Herrera province, where the earthquake struck, told The Associated Press by phone. “Everyone is outside, scared.” Multiple aftershocks continued to rattle Panama, including several measuring magnitude 5.8, 5.5 and 5.2. Seismologists at the University of Panama recorded more than 45 aftershocks, though many were too weak to be felt. Calls for calm and reports of collapsed buildings Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino called for calm on Friday, writing on X: “What happened should not be used to cause alarm or disorder.” Omar...