(BSS/AFP) - A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake rocked Panama on Friday, collapsing buildings and roads in the
center of the country and injuring at least 27 people, with no deaths reported.

The shallow tremor was felt across the Central American nation of around 4.5 million people, according to the National Civil Protection System.

The head of emergency operations Rene Garcia told AFP that there were no reports of fatalities so far.

In Panama City, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) from the epicenter, there were scenes of panic as people rushed to evacuate from the city`s emblematic skyscrapers.

"I was scared because the shaking was very strong and prolonged," Salomon Andion, 46, told AFP after evacuating his 15-story building for the second time following aftershocks.

"Heavy objects like dressers, the bed, and all the kitchen items were
shaking."

A video widely shared on social media showed water falling from the rooftop
pool of a building more than 20 stories tall.

Another showed a bridge over the Panama Canal shaking violently but remaining
upright as vehicles traveled across it.

"We are facing a major disaster," President Jose Raul Mulino said, adding
that some roads had "completely collapsed."

"It was horrible, like nothing we ever experienced. My daughter was trapped
in school," Juana Alveo, a 38-year-old cashier at a store in the city of
Penonome in central Cocle province, told AFP.

There were 27 people with minor injuries across the country as a result of
the quake, according to a statement from the National Civil Protection
System.

The US Geological Survey said the quake struck at 12:56 pm local time (1756
GMT) with an epicenter 10 kilometers (six miles) from the small town of
Pitaloza Arriba in central Herrera province.

The USGS initially estimated it to be a magnitude-8.0 quake before revising
it down to 7.7.

A tsunami warning was issued for the eastern Pacific but later lifted.

- Airport shut -

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X on Friday that he was "closely
monitoring" the situation, with his office "rapidly mobilizing resources and
personnel to assist," at the Panamanian government`s request.

The Panama Canal Authority said shipping through the channel, which connects
the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, was unaffected and operating "as normal."

Mulino traveled to Penonome to coordinate the disaster response.

Health Minister Fernando Boyd said the most affected areas were the provinces
of Herrera and Cocle as well as Los Santos.

He said the town of Tonosi in Los Santos was completely cut off.

"We are trying to figure out how to get there by air, because it`s impossible
by land," Boyd said.

Panama City`s international airport, a major hub for the region, was
temporarily closed.

Several flights were diverted to other airports as a precaution, according to
the Civil Aeronautics Authority.

The leaders of Colombia, Ecuador and Guatemala all sent messages of
solidarity and offers of aid.

Benjamin Gonzalez, 52, said he was at a farm near the town of La Miel when
the quake hit, and when he returned home he found "many houses devastated"
and "everyone terrified" in the small town square, which was left without
power.

His neighbor, David Castillo, told AFP that residents were choosing not to
return home because they are "afraid it will happen again."

- Aftershocks -

Earthquakes are rare in Panama and usually occur in western Chiriqui
province, bordering Costa Rica.

Former president Ricardo Martinelli posted pictures on Instagram of his house
in the town of Sona in Veraguas province that collapsed.

A church and a hotel in Penonome also suffered extensive damage, images
shared on local media showed.

More than 80 aftershocks, one above magnitude 6.0, were recorded by the local
geosciences institute.

Mulino called for calm.

"What happened should not be used to generate alarm and disorder," he wrote
on X, adding that he had called for a report on the damage.

The education ministry announced the suspension of classes in schools
nationwide.

The Panamanian quake is at least the fourth quake this year in Latin America
surpassing 7.0 in magnitude, after devastating back-to-back earthquakes in
Venezuela`s Guaira in June and a powerful earthquake in western Colombia in
August.