Panama rocked by 2 powerful earthquakes and multiple aftershocks, prompting evacuations
PANAMA CITY — Two powerful 7.7 and 6.6 magnitude earthquakes and a series of aftershocks roiled southern Panama Friday afternoon, collapsing buildings near the epicenter and prompting evacuations across the country. The earlier quake, felt as far away as neighboring Colombia, was centered about 10 kilometers (6 miles) southwest of the remote community of Pitaloza Arriba, in the central province of Herrera, the USGS said. It struck at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles). The USGS initially reported the first quake as magnitude 8, then revised it to 7.6 and later to 7.7. Visibly shaken residents of Panama City, the capital, 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 Uni
