A strong earthquake struck off Panama’s southern coast on Friday, with tremors felt in the capital, Panama City.The US Geological Survey recorded the quake at magnitude 7.6. It was centred about 10 kilometres southwest of the remote community of Pitaloza Arriba, near Panama’s southern tip, at a depth of 10 kilometres.“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. “Everyone is outside, scared.”The National Weather Service issued a tsunami warning for the coasts of Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Guatemala.Omar Smith of Panama’s National Civil Protection Service urged people to remain calm after the earthquake. He told local media that the damage was concentrated in the central provinces of Veraguas, Herrera and Los Santos.“There were no reports of damage in the capital, Panama City, which is known for its hundreds of skyscrapers,” he said.Panama’s Civil Protection Service said it was assessing possible damage in areas close to the epicentre.Panama lies along the “Ring of Fire”, a belt of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean where most of the world’s earthquakes occur.
