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A 7.7 magnitude earthquake shook Panama on Friday and forced people in the capital to leave their homes. Authorities have not yet reported any casualties or material damage.
Initially, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) had indicated that the earthquake was 8.0 in magnitude, but later adjusted the magnitude downward.
The earthquake's epicenter was located about 10 kilometers (6 miles) southwest of the remote town of Pitaloza Arriba, near the southern tip of Panama, according to the USGS. It occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles).
Residents of Panama City, visibly shaken, gathered in the streets after feeling the strong tremor.
"We felt it very strongly, it knocked things off the kitchen shelves, but we are okay, although very scared," Rosendo Domínguez, a 60-year-old resident from Herrera, the province where the earthquake occurred, told The Associated Press by phone. "Everyone is outside and scared."
Civil protection services are out in the streets to assess the damage.
For its part, El Salvador's authorities issued a "moderate tsunami threat" that could impact its coasts with a sea-level rise of up to one meter in the next two hours.
[Publicidad]