7.7 Earthquake Strikes Off Panama's Southern Coast, Tsunami Warnings Issued for Nine Countries

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck near the southern tip of Panama on Friday, Oct. 9, at 1:56 p.m. ET, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. That was just before 1 p.m. local time.

The USGS put the epicenter a few miles southwest of Pitaloza Arriba, a remote community, at a depth of about 6 miles (10 kilometers). Early estimates varied. The USGS initially measured the quake at 8.0 before lowering it to 7.7, and some early postings carried 7.6.

Buildings shook in Panama City, more than 100 miles away. People poured into the streets, and the quake was also felt in San José, Costa Rica.

Aftershocks and local reports

A 5.5 aftershock followed near Bajo Corral and a 5.8 near El Cacao. At least four more aftershocks between 4.8 and 5.0 were detected across the southern part of the country in the two hours after the main shock. The Institute of Geosciences of the University of Panama said it measured a second quake of 6.0 at 1:22 p.m. local time.

Rosendo Domínguez, 60, lives in Herrera province, where the quake struck. He told The Associated Press: "We felt it very strongly. It knocked things over in the kitchen, but we're OK, though we're very scared. Everyone is outside, scared."

Panama's newspaper La Prensa said buildings, schools and homes were evacuated across the country. Photos from Panama City show patients and medical workers gathered outside the Santo Tomás hospital, including its maternity ward, after the shaking.

What Panama's civil protection agency says

Omar Smith of Panama's National Civil Protection Service said damage is concentrated in the central provinces of Veraguas, Herrera and Los Santos. He urged people to stay calm. He also told local media there were no reports of damage in Panama City, a city of hundreds of skyscrapers.

The agency said it is monitoring for damage nationwide and assessing areas near the epicenter. As of late Friday afternoon, it had not released casualty figures or a damage count.

According to Michigan Technological University, quakes in this magnitude range can cause serious damage. A 7.7 near a populated coastline is a serious event, though the epicenter is in a sparsely populated area.

Tsunami warnings

The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned that waves of roughly 3 to 10 feet above normal tide levels were possible along parts of Panama's coast. Parts of Ecuador could see waves of about 1 to 3 feet.

Forecasts for Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru called for waves under 1 foot above tide levels. Officials said a Pacific-wide tsunami was not expected.

The National Weather Service said a tsunami was "NOT expected" to hit the United States. That followed an initial alert that had flagged possible waves on the West Coast.

Seismologist Jeffrey Park said on CNN that a quake of this size and location is a "red flag for a tsunami warning." He said that without knowing the fault mechanism, it "has the possibility of leading to severe tsunami damage along the southern coastline of Panama." The official forecasts were less alarming, and the actual wave heights have not been reported.

A region already shaken

Panama sits on the Ring of Fire, the belt of seismic faults around the Pacific where most of the world's earthquakes occur.

The region is still recovering from a deadly earthquake in Colombia about a month ago. Fox News reported that more than 3,000 people were missing after that quake, and that the Trump administration had provided $15.5 million in relief.

The next numbers to watch are the damage tallies from Veraguas, Herrera and Los Santos. Wave observations along Panama's Pacific coast will show whether the 3-to-10-foot forecast materializes. Civil Protection has not said when it expects to release either.